Iranian state media posted a video in the early hours on Friday that appeared to show Iran’s Navy seizing an oil tanker identified as the Ocean Koi. The vessel was described as exploiting regional conditions to harm oil exports and Iranian interests. Carrying Iranian crude, the ship was escorted to Iran’s southern coast.

The U.S. Treasury flagged the ship on Feb. 25 as part of a shadow fleet violating sanctions. Owned by Chinese interests, it was renamed Jin Li on Nov. 30 and has moved Iranian hydrocarbons at least 16 times since 2021. Half of those loadings occurred at Iranian ports, the other half via ship‑to‑ship transfers, prompting analysts widely publicly call the seizure largely performative.

Around 1,600 vessels remain stranded in the Persian Gulf after Iran effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz following the Feb. 28 U.S.–Israel strike. A U.S. blockade launched last month further limits traffic to the Gulf of Oman, forcing ships to disable tracking devices and rename themselves. With pre‑war traffic of roughly 130 ships daily, the latest seizure underscores Tehran’s bid to project control amid mounting logistical bottlenecks.