(Bloomberg) -- Two Iran-linked oil tankers that US forces interdicted near Sri Lanka last week appear to have halted their westward course in the Indian Ocean and turned around.
US forces carried out “maritime interdiction and right-of-visit boarding” of two oil supertankers, the Tifani and the Phonix on April 21 and 23 respectively, the Pentagon said last week, without elaborating what would happen next to the vessels. The latter ship is also known as the Majestic X.
The vessels that initially appeared to be moving west in close proximity to one another reversed course and took an eastern heading late Monday, digital signals from the carriers indicate.
The US has given no formal indication of its plans for the vessels or their cargoes. The tankers were still signaling the same Asian destinations they were when the interdictions happened, adding to the confusion.
Under the initial course, Cape Town at the southern tip of Africa would have been a standard waypoint for ships sailing onward to the US. That route also would have taken them in the direction of the UK-controlled Chagos archipelago, home to an American military base at Diego Garcia.
When the US carried out a similar blockade in Venezuela, some of the Latin American country’s shipments were interdicted in the Caribbean Sea and diverted to American ports and terminals.
The US cordon of Iran’s shipping began on April 13 and followed Tehran’s closure of the Strait of Hormuz in response to US and Israeli attacks that began at the end of February.
US Central Command referred requests for comment to Indo-Pacific Command, which didn’t immediately respond.
--With assistance from Anthony Di Paola.
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