US Revives 18th-Century Law to Seize Iranian Oil

The US government is exploring an unusual legal route to deal with Iranian oil and ships captured as part of its blockade. The Justice Department, working with the Pentagon, is preparing to use prize law, which allowed courts to decide whether vessels and cargo captured during armed conflict could legally become property of the United States.

The mechanism was once commonplace in naval warfare but largely disappeared from American practice after the 19th century. The appeal for the administration is practical, as civil forfeiture can be complicated and slow when shipping companies, creditors, or terrorism victims assert competing rights to the ship or its cargo.

Using prize law could potentially narrow those disputes and allow captured oil to be sold more quickly, with the proceeds going to the US Treasury. Houston is being considered as a central venue for these cases, due to its major port and concentration of petrochemical infrastructure.