The US military has seized another tanker associated with smuggling Iranian oil.
The Defence Department said it seized the oil tanker Majestic X in the Indian Ocean.
“We will continue global maritime enforcement to disrupt illicit networks and interdict vessels providing material support to Iran, wherever they operate,” the Defence Department said.
Overnight, U.S. forces carried out a maritime interdiction and right-of-visit boarding of the sanctioned stateless vessel M/T Majestic X transporting oil from Iran, in the Indian Ocean within the INDOPACOM area of responsibility.
We will continue global maritime enforcement to… pic.twitter.com/SWF6Jt9Ci4
— Department of War 🇺🇸 (@DeptofWar) April 23, 2026
The Defence Department released footage of the seizure of the vessel, showing US troops on the deck of the vessel.
Ship-tracking data showed the Majestic X in the Indian Ocean between Sri Lanka and Indonesia, roughly the same location as the oil tanker Tifani, earlier seized by American forces.
It had been bound for Zhoushan, China.
There was no immediate response from Iran on the news of the seizure.
The seizure comes a day after Iran attacked three cargo ships in the strait, capturing two of them, in a move that intensified its assault on shipping in the key waterway through which 20% of the world’s traded oil passes in peacetime.
The Majestic X is a Guyana-flagged oil tanker. It previously had been named Phoenix and had been sanctioned by the US Treasury Department in 2024 for smuggling Iranian crude oil in contravention of US sanctions on the Islamic Republic.
On Tuesday, President Donald Trump extended a ceasefire while maintaining an American blockade of Iranian ports.
The standoff between the US and Iran has effectively choked off nearly all exports through the strait with no end in sight.
The conflict has already sent fuel prices skyrocketing far beyond the region and raised the cost of food and a wide array of other products.
The price of Brent crude oil, the international standard, tipped over 100 dollars per barrel, marking a 35% increase from pre-war levels, but stock markets still appear to be shrugging it off.
The European Union energy commissioner, Dan Jorgensen, warned on Wednesday of lasting impact for consumers and businesses, likening it to other major energy crises over the last half-century.
He said the disruption is costing Europe around 500 million euros each day.