It’s being called an “ancient body of maritime law” but it still actually is a thing, and now sources reveal that the Department of Justice is looking into reactivating “prize courts” that would address ships and cargo seized during the war with Iran, sell them off, and transfer the proceeds to the U.S. Treasury.
It is a report at RedState that reveals sources have confirmed the possible activation of the long-dormant maritime body to address the military capture of Iranian oil tankers as U.S. prizes.
Aaron Reitz, a Houston U.S. attorney whose office is working on the plan, confirmed DOJ is “reviving” those procedures.
According to RedState, the practice dates back centuries, when the U.S. government would issue a letter of marque, “authorizing privately owned warships to hunt enemy ships on the high seas.”
The one problem at that time was that some of the “privateers” ended up becoming pirates.
But the processes used during the Civil War are returning.
“Note the key difference: the proceeds would go to the Treasury, not to the crews of the warships involved. That’s probably for the best; perverse incentives may ensue if ships’ companies started receiving payouts based on the value of cargoes seized. This makes the entire thing more of a ‘covering the cost of our deployments’ issue and less of a, well, mercenary one. And, considering the amount of money all this is costing the American taxpayers, it’s not the worst idea,” the report added.
The Justice Department is preparing to activate a long-dormant maritime war court to streamline military capture of Iranian oil tankers as US prizes, according to three people familiar with the plans. https://t.co/SWdhxeWgnR
— Bloomberg (@business) August 26, 2026
SCOOP: Justice Dept. plans activating long-dormant maritime war court to streamline capture of Iranian oil tankers as US prizes. Legally uncertain plan intended to bolster blockade of Iran.
A feature of 1700s naval combat, prize courts set to return. https://t.co/K8gBrQZiwM— Ben Penn (@benjaminpenn) August 26, 2026
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There’s already a civil forfeiture process, but the report said it’s “getting bogged down” in competing claims.
For example, a Venezuelan supertanker that support Iran was seized, and the DOJ filed a complaint seeking to liquidate the ship and cargo.
But then “third parties,” including the shipping company and families of Iranian terror victims, also filed for payouts, the report said.
A report at Bloomberg confirmed the plan.
“The Justice Department is preparing to activate a long-dormant maritime war court to streamline military capture of Iranian oil tankers as U.S. prizes,” it said. “Reviving prize courts is intended to strengthen the blockade of Iran and offset the cost of the conflict, and would offer a faster path for federal prosecutors to claim oil and other cargo taken from enemy or neutral vessels as U.S. property.”
The plans are not final, and experts expect there would be legal challenges.
But in a statement, Reitz said, “Our national security interests may require the United States military to seize vessels or cargo supporting the enemy during military conflict. If that happens, our federal courts must be ready to adjudicate the disposition of these captured vessels and cargo.”
The plan is being developed even as the U.S. military has intercepted and seized multiple Iranian-owned or linked ships since imposing a blockade in April.
“It helps offset the price of the war,” said Eugene Kontorovich, an international law professor at George Mason’s Antonin Scalia School of Law, in a comment to Bloomberg. “It also shows Iran that America is really treating this as a serious international blockade and is willing to use all the tools at its disposal.”
