DUBAI, UAE – Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Navy has seized a Marshall Islands-flagged tanker off the southern Makran coast, Iranian state media reported on Saturday.

The tanker, known as the Talara, was intercepted on Friday morning after Iranian authorities issued a judicial order authorizing its capture.

IRGC naval units tracked the ship before boarding it at about 7:30 am, Iranian outlets said. The vessel had been carrying roughly 30,000 tons of petrochemical products and was traveling toward Singapore.

Additional reporting showed that a US Navy MQ-4C Triton surveillance drone had been circling above the area for several hours as the seizure unfolded, according to flight-tracking data analyzed by The Associated Press.

The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations center also acknowledged the incident, saying a possible “state activity” caused the Talara to alter course and move into Iranian territorial waters.

Columbia Shipmanagement, the Cyprus-based company responsible for the vessel, later said it had lost contact with the tanker, which was transporting high-sulphur gasoil.

Iranian state media said the seizure was carried out as part of the IRGC’s mandate to protect the country’s economic interests. IRGC personnel are now inspecting the cargo, reviewing the ship’s documents, and assessing its compliance before releasing more information.