The Iraqi navy detained a Liberian-flagged oil tanker located in its territorial waters on August 8 as part of efforts to combat fuel smuggling at sea – according to a Reuters report that cited sources from the country’s navy, oil and transport ministries.

Currently, fuel smuggling is common in the Gulf with smugglers selling highly subsidised fuel from abroad on the black market to buyers in Iraq and other countries in the region. Despite this, actions by Iraq itself to combat the issue have been almost non-existent – with this latest seizure a break from the norm.

The ship itself, named the Liliana (according to Iraqi authorities and shipping sources) had been transporting 93,000 metric tonnes of fuel oil when it was intercepted around 26 nautical miles from Iraq’s coast in the vicinity of the Al Basrah oil terminal.

Footage obtained by Reuters shows an armed military team boarding and searching the vessel on August 5, with crew and passports checked.

Regarding the search and seizure, Iraq’s head of the General Company for Iraqi Ports Farhan Al-Fartousi said authorities had launched a “comprehensive inspection operation” after receiving information about smuggling in the area.

The official continued to tell Reuters that any vessels engaging in suspicious activity would be detained, and those proven guilty on board would be arrested.

Oil on the Liliana is likely to have originated from Iraq and was being prepared to be shipped out of the country, according to Reuters, with the vessel now expected to remain in the location it was seized until its paperwork can be referred to the judiciary. After these are verified, the ship is then expected to be towed to port to await a court ruling.

The ship’s manager – Babylon Navigation – has not yet commented on the matter.

Liliana is not the first ship to be seized by Iraqi authorities for fuel smuggling, with another unidentified ship being stopped in the country’s territorial waters in March for similar reasons.

Before its interception, Liliana’s destination had been listed as the port of Khor Al Zubair in Iraq, according to LSEG ship tracking data.