Iran on Thursday mentioned it has seized an “American” ship off the coast of Oman. According to the Iranian media, the ship was utilized by the United States for stealing its oil final 12 months.
The announcement got here hours after the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations mentioned armed males boarded the Greek-owned and Marshall Islands-flagged ship named St Nikolas. The ship, based on the British company, modified its course in direction of Bandar-e-Jask in Iran.
Iran’s navy mentioned in an announcement that it has seized a ship named St Nicholas, beforehand known as Suez Rajan. IRNA information company mentioned the motion was taken in retaliation to “violation dedicated by the Suez Rajan ship… and the theft of Iranian oil by the United States”.
“The Navy of the Islamic Republic of Iran seized an American oil tanker within the waters of the Gulf of Oman in accordance with a court docket order,” it added.
Those who boarded the ship coated its cameras.
The ship was carrying 19 crew — 18 Filipinos and one Greek.
AFP reported that the ship is owned by Greece-based Empire Navigation.
The ship, with 145,000 tons of crude oil, was going from Basra, Iraq, to Aliaga in Turkey through the Suez Canal.
Why Iran seized the ship
In September 2023, the United States mentioned it had seized the Suez Rajan and its cargo of 980,000 barrels of crude oil months earlier.
The US Department of Justice mentioned on the time that the oil on the Greek-managed tanker was allegedly being bought by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps to China.
In a tit-for-tat transfer, Iran later seized two tankers — the Marshall Islands-flagged Advantage Sweet and Greek-owned Niovi.
This comes amid assaults and hijacking makes an attempt by Iran-backed Houthi rebels within the Red Sea.
With inputs from AFP