Oil tanker seized by US not registered to Guyana – MARAD

…says vessel illegally flying Guyana’s flag

The Maritime Administration Department (MARAD) on Thursday noted that the oil tanker seized by United States authorities is not registered to Guyana and was illegally flying the country’s flag.
International media reported that US forces seized a Guyana-flagged tanker transporting Iranian oil in the Indian Ocean. The vessel, the Majestic X, formerly known as Phoenix, had been sanctioned by the Treasury Department in 2024 for smuggling Iranian crude oil in violation of American sanctions on the Islamic Republic.
In a statement on Thursday, MARAD made it clear that the ship is not registered in Guyana.
“While the name of the vessel has changed, the IMO number remains recorded in the international database as PHONIX. There is no record of this vessel or name in Guyana’s registry. Therefore, the ship is FRAUDULENTLY flying the Guyana flag,” the organisation said.
It explained that Guyana operates a closed registry, and therefore, the registration of vessels under the Guyana flag is limited to ships owned by Guyanese nationals, residents, citizens of Caribbean Community states (CARICOM), and corporate bodies established under the laws of Guyana.
“None of the purported owners of the vessel in question falls into any of these categories,” MARAD noted.

False Guyana registrations
Meanwhile, MARAD said that the incidences of false Guyanese registrations were recognised since 2021.
In fact, it noted that the perpetuators of this fraud have targeted several countries, including Guyana, Panama and regional states. The International Maritime Organization (IMO) publishes a list of all ships falsely flying flags of member states.
MARAD said, in collaboration with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, it continues to share information on these false registrations which come into their possession with all United Nations maritime states and relevant regional and international maritime associations.
Moreover, MARAD noted that “the sanctions being applied by the United States of America, the United Kingdom and other Western States are in part a response to the threats posed by these false registrations.”

Skipper, Four Plus
In December 2025, MARAD issued a statement saying it has observed the proliferation and unacceptable trend of the unauthorised use of the Guyana flag by vessels that are not registered in Guyana.
In the statement, MARAD revealed that the US Government had informed local authorities that they encountered motor tanker SKIPPER (ex-ADISA), IMO Number 9304667, in international waters and that it was falsely flying the Guyana flag.
In that statement, MARAD committed to continue working with international partners to identify, pursue and take firm action against the unauthorised use of the Guyana flag.
In January 2025, MARAD also had cause to issue a statement clarifying that the chemical tanker “Four Plus”, bearing IMO No. 9203920, which had been detained by Venezuelan authorities for unauthorised entry into that state’s waters, was falsely flying the Guyana flag.

Majestic X
Meanwhile, international media has reported that ship-tracking data showed the Majestic X in the Indian Ocean between Sri Lanka and Indonesia, roughly the same location as the oil tanker Tifani, seized by the US earlier this week. The Majestic had been bound for Zhoushan, China.
“We will continue global maritime enforcement to disrupt illicit networks and interdict vessels providing material support to Iran, wherever they operate,” the Pentagon said on X.
“International waters cannot be used as a shield by sanctioned actors. The Department of War will continue to deny illicit actors and their vessels freedom of manoeuvre in the maritime domain.”
Thursday’s announcement comes one day after Iran fired on three cargo ships in the Strait of Hormuz, capturing two of them.