Fact Check: US Special Forces capture Iranian oil tanker? No, video shows training exercise in Philippines
A video has been circulating claiming to show US forces taking control of an Iran-linked oil tanker in the Atlantic Ocean.
By - Md Mahfooz Alam
Claim:The video shows US Special Forces taking control of an Iran-linked oil tanker in the Atlantic Ocean.
Fact:The claim is false. The video shows joint casualty evacuation hoist training between the US military and the Armed Forces of the Philippines, during Exercise Balikatan 25 on April 22, 2025.
Hyderabad: A video showing persons in army uniforms in helicopters taking control of boats at sea has been circulating on social media. Those sharing the video claim it shows US special forces seizing an Iranian-linked oil tanker, which has a Russian flag, in the Atlantic Ocean.
Sharing the video, an X user wrote, “This is the moment US Special Forces successfully boarded the RUSSIAN -flagged Iranian-linked oil tanker, Marinera, in the Atlantic Ocean. I am beginning to think that the US is mightier than we assumed. (sic)” (Archive)
Fact Check
NewsMeter found that the claim is false. The video shows a joint casualty evacuation hoist training between the US military and the Armed Forces of the Philippines.
We conducted a reverse image search of the keyframes of the video and found that it was published by the social media account SOCOM Athlete on YouTube and Facebook on May 29, 2025.
According to the account, the video shows US Naval Special Warfare and the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment operating in formation during casualty evacuation hoist training in Subic Bay, Philippines, during Exercise Balikatan 25 on April 22, 2025.
We also found the video on the official site of US Army Europe and Africa, the branch that oversees operations and exercises in Europe and Africa. It was published on May 6, 2025.
According to the information provided on the website, the video does depict the casualty evacuation hoist training in Subic Bay, Philippines, during Exercise Balikatan 25 on April 22, 2025.
It is also mentioned on the website that Balikatan is a longstanding annual exercise between the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the US military designed to strengthen the alliance, improve the combined force, and demonstrate to the region security and stability.
Therefore, we conclude that the video does not show US forces taking control of an Iranian or Iran-linked oil tanker in the Atlantic Ocean. The claim is false.
