The Justice Department plans to invoke prize law—a nearly forgotten body of wartime maritime rules—to argue that ships and tankers the United States has captured at sea since the start of the Trump administration were lawfully taken.

Prize law is “an ancient body of maritime law—already codified in statute but which we are now reviving—that sets the rules for how seized maritime property is condemned”. First emerging in the early 17th century, the legal framework was a regular feature of 18th- and 19th-century naval combat but has been largely unused since the Spanish‑American War and has remained dormant since World War II.

Bypassing Civil Forfeiture

The formal use of prize law would allow the administration to end‑run civil asset forfeiture laws, which can often become bogged down in court for extended periods. By reviving prize courts, the DOJ aims to streamline the process for claiming Iranian oil tankers and their cargoes seized during the conflict with Iran. Under the proposal, tankers and oil shipments intercepted during the naval blockade would be brought before a federal court—potentially the Southern District of Texas—to be condemned as war prizes and sold for the benefit of the U.S. Treasury.

Part of a Broader Naval Strategy

The move would also allow U.S. forces to bolster the naval blockade of the Strait of Hormuz and recoup some of the costs from the war. The Justice Department confirmed it is reviving maritime prize courts to seize tankers running Iran’s sanctioned oil out from under the Navy’s blockade. One legal observer noted that the system has been unused for so long that “we’d have to conduct a séance” to figure out how to operate it.

What Prize Law Means for Seized Vessels

Prize law is a distinct legal regime that governs the capture of enemy vessels and their cargo during armed conflict. Unlike civil asset forfeiture—which requires the government to prove a connection between the property and criminal activity—prize proceedings treat captured ships as spoils of war, allowing for faster adjudication and direct transfer of sale proceeds to the government. Once a regular feature of naval warfare, prize courts have not been actively used in the United States since World War II.

As the Trump administration continues its military campaign against Iran, the revival of this centuries‑old legal mechanism could provide a faster, more direct route to seize and profit from Iranian oil shipments—while also raising fresh legal and diplomatic questions about the boundaries of wartime maritime authority.