On May 28, Iranian state media reported that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) had seized the oil tanker Ocean Koi in a "special operation" in the Gulf of Oman. The Fars news agency quoted a military spokesman as saying Iranian commandos and naval marines guided the violating vessel to the country's southern coast.
According to the IRNA news agency, Iran's military declared it would "strongly protect the interests and assets of the Iranian nation in its territorial waters and will not tolerate any violators or aggressors." Iranian state television broadcast footage showing Iranian forces boarding and capturing the ship. The Marine Tracker maritime monitoring system identified the Ocean Koi as flying the flag of Barbados.
Al Jazeera correspondent Resul Serder in Tehran noted this is not the first time the IRGC has seized a ship, but it marks a strategic shift. He said Iran is building a "new maritime regime" with new rules, regulations, and protocols. A new body called the Persian Gulf Strait Authority will manage transit through the Strait of Hormuz.
Under the new regulations, any vessel intending to pass through the Strait of Hormuz — which carries one-fifth of the world's oil — must email Iranian authorities specifying its country of origin, cargo, and final destination. Iran will assess and demand transit fees. "Iran is not giving up its sovereignty over the Strait of Hormuz," the correspondent stressed, calling the move symbolic as Tehran asserts control over strategic chokepoints, refusing passage to ships without permission.
