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Iran’s Navy mentioned it had seized a vessel loaded with crude oil off the coast of Oman on Thursday after an armed group sporting military-style uniforms and black masks boarded the ship.
The vessel, beforehand named the Suez Rajan, was concerned final yr within the U.S. authorities seizure of Iranian oil that was being transported in violation of American sanctions. The ship ultimately unloaded the oil and continued to sail, however below a brand new identify, St. Nikolas.
“This vessel stole Iran’s oil below the order of the U.S. and transported it to American shores,” the Iranian Navy mentioned in an announcement, which was carried on state media.
Iran claimed the ship was an American tanker, however the Greek firm that manages the St. Nikolas mentioned the vessel was not American-owned.
A spokeswoman for the Pentagon’s Central Command mentioned america army was monitoring the state of affairs however had no additional rapid remark.
The incident got here at a second of heightened tensions in Center Jap waters after weeks of assaults on industrial ships within the Purple Sea, situated on the opposite facet of facet of the Arabian Peninsula. The Iran-backed Houthi militia in Yemen has pledged to forestall any vessels from reaching Israel till it ceases its bombardment of Gaza.
On Wednesday, U.S. and British officers mentioned they intercepted one of many largest barrages but of drones and missiles fired from an space in Yemen managed by the Houthis. The Houthis have refused to again down, regardless of threats of retaliation by the U.S. and its allies.
The St. Nikolas was seized Thursday morning off the town of Sohar on Oman’s northern coast, close to the Strait of Hormuz, in accordance with a British authorities advisory group, the UK Maritime Commerce Operations.
“Unknown voices” have been heard over the telephone, together with the captain’s voice, in accordance with the advisory group, which sends maritime safety data to service provider vessels. The ship then modified course to go towards Iranian territorial waters, and communication was misplaced, the group mentioned.
Dimitris Roulias, a spokesman for Empire Navigation, which manages the vessel mentioned it had misplaced contact with the St. Nikolas on Thursday morning. The vessel had departed from the Iraqi port of Basra and was headed to the Turkish port of Aliaga.
Ambrey, a maritime danger agency, mentioned that the tanker was heading within the route of Bandar-e-Jask, Iran, earlier than its location data was turned off.
“There have been many efforts to determine communication, however with no success,” Mr. Roulias mentioned. “There isn’t any data on what precisely is occurring on board the vessel.”
The vessel has a crew of 18 Filipino nationals and one Greek nationwide, he mentioned. He mentioned he had no details about the ship’s present location and couldn’t verify how many individuals had boarded the vessel.
The seizure could possibly be seen as a warning that Iran is staking its declare to the Strait of Hormuz, mentioned Viktor Katona, an analyst for Kpler, an organization that tracks vitality transport.
“There may be numerous backlash,” he warned.
In previous intervals of heightened tensions within the Center East, ships within the Gulf of Oman have been focused, together with a number of assaults in 2019 that American officers attributed to Iran, which is simply 100 miles throughout the gulf from Sohar.
Eric Schmitt and Stanley Reed contributed reporting.
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