Seize all of these vessels, sell the oil and then sell the ships

On March 1, 1579, Sir Francis Drake’s ship the Golden Hind intercepted the Spanish treasure galleon Nuestra Señora de la Concepción off the coast of Peru. The Spanish ship was carrying an enormous cargo of gold, silver, jewels, and other valuables from the South American colonies back to Spain. Drake captured the ship with almost no resistance. The haul included:

-26 tons (about 26,000 kg) of silver
-80 pounds (36 kg) of gold
-13 chests of silver coins (reales)
-Jewels, a golden crucifix, and other valuables

The total value of the haul was estimated at hundreds of millions of dollars in today’s dollars. The cargo was transferred to the Golden Hind. Drake, in accordance with the practice at the time, kept some for himself and his crew and gave the rest to the British monarch Queen Elizabeth.

All of this was done according to English law. The British considered themselves at war with Spain and had authorized Drake to take such actions. He had been provided with a Letter of Marque (a government license) authorizing him to attack Spanish vessels. Captured vessels and cargo were legally treated as “prizes,” brought before an Admiralty court for condemnation, and then sold or divided among the Crown, the ship’s owners, the captain, and the crew.

Right now, in the Eastern Outer Ports Limits (EOPL) anchorage 40 miles off the Malaysian coast, there are at least forty tankers carrying Iranian oil. They left Iran ahead of the blockade. Most of this oil is headed for China, and it is being sold and transferred to other vessels every day.

“In the weeks leading up to the conflict, Tehran sharply increased crude loadings and offshore stockpiling to cushion the impact of war on its oil trade. Amid ongoing hostilities, the Iranian regime’s Ghost Fleet continues to operate actively — loading cargo, transiting the Strait of Hormuz, and heading east toward its primary buyer, China.”

United Against Nuclear Iran

We say the Iranians are going broke, but they are continuing to make deals every day.

The EOPL has functioned as a floating storage and ship-to-ship (STS) transfer hub for Iranian crude, mainly bound for China, for a long time. The area in question is huge, roughly half the size of Rhode Island. Many vessels in this anchorage operate “dark”, that is, with their maritime tracking systems off. To get a handle on their numbers, analysts literally have to count them one by one from satellite imagery. These are not small coastal ships. Most of them are what are known as Very Large Crude Carriers (VLCCs) capable of carrying 1–2 million barrels each.

Seize them all. Put American Naval personnel in charge. Sail them under armed escort to the United States. I suggest Long Beach. It is the largest port complex on the US West Coast and one of the busiest oil ports in the country. It has active crude oil import terminals. It handles large tankers regularly. And, California still has significant refining capacity (even after some recent closures), so the seized Iranian crude could be sold locally to refiners.

Then apply the proceeds to the cost of the continuing conflict. Do the same for the vessels.

The United States Government has full legal authority to do this. We have already done it on multiple occasions. The legal procedure in question is called a forfeiture. Once a federal court has granted the government’s application, then the seized assets can legally be sold.

The same goes for the vessels themselves, assuming buyers can be found. In addition to bringing in additional money, selling the ships would send a strong message to those who think it profitable to violate sanctions and run oil for the ayatollahs. The business would be a lot less appealing once entire ships were lost to the U.S. Navy.

Once we have our hands on the tankers parked near Malaysia, we should move on to seizing any vessels worldwide that are involved in helping Iran avoid sanctions and continue to bring in cash for its terrorist regime. This is not a small fleet. As of May of this year, United Against Nuclear Iran had identified 587 vessels in this illegal Iranian armada. Imposing a blockade on Iran was a good first step. In and of itself, it is insufficient.

Let’s take the next step. Let’s take a page from Drake’s playbook. Seize the ships. Sell them and the oil. Pocket the cash.

Originally posted by AND Magazine