Iran-Linked Oil Tankers Sail West After Boarding by US

By Julian Lee

Apr 27, 2026 (Bloomberg) –Two Iran-linked oil tankers that US forces interdicted near Sri Lanka last week are now sailing west.

US forces carried out “maritime interdiction and right-of-visit boarding” of two oil supertankers, the Tifani and the Phonix on April 21 and 23 respectively, the Pentagon said last week, without elaborating what would happen next to the vessels. The latter ship is also known as the Majestic X.

Both appear to be crossing the Indian Ocean westbound in quite close proximity to one another, digital signals from the two carriers indicate.

The US has given no formal indication