The U.S. Maritime Administration (MARAD) advised on Monday that American‑flagged vessels should remain away from Iranian territorial waters.
The administration stated that “U.S.-flagged vessels should refuse Iranian orders unless complying would endanger their safety.”
It added, “We advise U.S.-flagged ships to stay away from Iranian territorial waters.”
This comes days after the company Vanguard Tech reported that Iranian military boats approached a U.S.-flagged oil tanker in the Strait of Hormuz early Tuesday and ordered it to stop—an escalation amid rising regional tensions.
The company said in a statement, “The tanker encountered three groups of small armed boats belonging to the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps while transiting the strait, about 16 nautical miles north of the coast of Oman.”
It added, “The boats contacted the tanker via radio and ordered its captain to shut down the engines and prepare for boarding” for inspection.
The company confirmed that “the tanker did not comply with the order and instead increased speed and maintained its course,” stressing that it had not entered Iranian territorial waters. Vanguard Tech noted that the tanker is now being escorted by a U.S. Navy warship.