The U.S. Coast Guard has confirmed that a joint federal team boarded an oil tanker transiting the Gulf of Mexico in August after the vessel’s network was attacked by “foreign cyber actors.” The confirmation follows reporting by the Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg, which identified at least two tankers as targets; Bloomberg named one as VL Prosperity, an Iranian-flagged vessel under a Liberian registry traveling from a port in Egypt toward the United States. Iranian state outlet Mehr News reported that VL Prosperity lost communications for roughly 30 hours and that a crew member described attackers allegedly increasing the engine speed and disabling the ship’s fuel and engine-oil tank controls remotely — a level of access that would give attackers physical leverage over a vessel at sea.
The boarding team, which included U.S. Coast Guard law enforcement personnel, a Coast Guard Cyber Protection Team, a vessel inspector, and FBI Cyber Action Team operators, embarked VL Prosperity on August 21 for what the Coast Guard called “a comprehensive cyber security boarding and investigation.” The Coast Guard says it found no evidence of operational disruption, vessel instability, physical danger to the crew, or environmental impact, though it declined to say who was behind the attack or what specifically was compromised. The Wall Street Journal reported that a second tanker was boarded on August 24. Russian-linked analysts have connected the incidents to the ongoing military standoff between the United States and Iran, though no group has claimed responsibility. At the time of reporting, VL Prosperity was located off the coast of Texas.