The US Justice Department is preparing to reactivate prize courts to “adjudicate the disposition of [Iranian] captured vessels and cargo.”
Bloomberg reported speaking with an attorney working with the Justice Department on reviving the court. “Our national security interests may require the United States military to seize vessels or cargo supporting the enemy during military conflict,” Aaron Reitz, a Houston-based attorney, said in a statement. “If that happens, our federal courts must be ready to adjudicate the disposition of these captured vessels and cargo.”
He described prize courts as an “ancient body of maritime law.”
Maritime lawyers and former prosecutors told Bloomberg they anticipate “ship owners and Iranian terrorism victims” to be among the plaintiffs filing with the prize court to receive funds generated by selling off seized Iranian oil.
While US officials and politicians often label Iran as the leading state-sponsor of terror, many of the alleged terror attacks that Tehran has ordered have been debunked, such as Iran supplying EFPs during the Iraq War and the Kohbar Towers attack.
During the Civil War, the US Navy captured merchant vessels as prizes during the blockade of the South. The Confederacy also allowed privateers to keep captured northern ships as prizes.
Allison Luzwick, an attorney specializing in maritime law, said the DOJ may struggle to use the prize court to seize Iranian oil, as international law has significantly developed since it was last used. “This really is a historical area of law that is not tested in modern times.” She added, “Great strides have been made in international law and the law of war since the late 1800s, and all of that is going to come into play when we’re actually looking at proceedings involving a vessel that is potentially seized under Prize Act authority.”
The planning to reactivate prize courts comes as President Donald Trump is shifting his approach to the war against Iran. This week, Secretary of State Marco Rubio told allies that the US was not planning additional strikes against Iran, and would be focusing on implementing the blockade and sanctions.
Since Trump imposed the blockade earlier this year, the US has captured and disabled multiple vessels attempting to reach or exit Iranian ports.
