DOJ is turning to an ancient body of law to capture Iranian oil tankers. It’s been so long since the U.S. used it, ‘we’d have to conduct a séance’

The Trump administration is bringing back a centuries-old legal tradition that would allow it to more easily seize Iranian oil tankers and sell off their assets.

Aaron Reitz, who is the U.S.

Attorney in the Houston-based Southern District of Texas, confirmed to Fortune the revival of prize law, or a set of rules allowing for military forces to seize enemy vessels.

“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,” he said in a statement.

“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, returned, or disposed of.” Invoking prize laws would allow U.S. forces to bolster the naval blockade of Iran and recoup costs from the war.

The news was first reported by Bloomberg Law.

Prize law contrasts with civil seizure laws that require the U.S. government to identify a statutory violation of a vessel and establish jurisdiction over that violation.

It often entails extensive litigation, according to Michael Frevola, a maritime litigation partner at Holland & Knight LLP.

By comparison, prize law does not require a captor to have a warrant or tie a vessel’s seizure to a violation of an existing stature.

Rather than law enforcement authorities like the Coast Guard having to seize a vessel under civil seizure laws, the Department of Defense, usually through military force, can seize an enemy vessel instead.

The ‘ancient’ roots of U.S. prize law Prize laws have existed since the Middle Ages, and have been baked into the U.S. legal canon since the beginning, with the Constitution outlining rules for capturing and confiscating enemy vessels during times of war in its Captures Clause .

During the 19th century, President Abraham Lincoln used the Prize Act of 1812 to blockade Confederate seaports —an act that was contested and eventually upheld by the Supreme Court.

It was most recently invoked during the Spanish-American War , which legitimized the U.S. naval detainment of Spanish vessels as prizes of war.