Iran Captures Oil Tanker Off Oman In Deepening Mideast Turmoil
An oil tanker previously seized by the US for carrying illicit Iranian oil, was boarded by people in military-style uniforms off the coast of Oman.
(Bloomberg) -- A tanker previously seized by the US for carrying illicit Iranian oil was captured by Tehran off the coast of Oman, heightening tensions in the world’s most important trade lane for global crude supply.
While the tanker was last year at the center of a sanctions bust-up between the US and Iran, the latest incident nevertheless brings Iran more directly into the shipping turmoil that’s gripped the Middle East. There has been a string of attacks on ships in the Red Sea over the past two months, primarily by Iran-backed Houthi militants. The US and its allies are weighing options for retaliation.
Four to five people in military-style uniforms and black masks boarded the ship, the UK Maritime Trade Operations said. The St Nikolas vessel had loaded about a million barrels of crude at the Iraqi port of Basrah for Turkish oil company Tupras and was heading to the country via the Suez Canal.
St Nikolas was formerly called the Suez Rajan, according to Clarkson Research Services Ltd., a unit of the world’s largest shipbroker. The tanker’s owner, Empire Navigation, last year admitted to violating sanctions on Iran by transporting oil from the Middle East country and was forced to offload its 1 million-barrel oil cargo in the US.
Oil in London rose as much as 2.1%. Crude has been relatively steady since the tensions began as supply hasn’t been directly affected by the tensions in the region.
Iran had a court order to seize a ship, Iran’s semi-official Tasnim agency reported, without giving further details. Tupras said the St Nikolas shipment was from Iraq’s state oil company SOMO. The vessel’s owner confirmed it had lost contact with the tanker.
The hijacking comes just after American and British jets and warships shot down 18 drones and three anti-ship missiles following the biggest Houthi attack in the Red Sea. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said there would be consequences and UK Defence Secretary Grant Shapps warned the Houthis to “watch this space.”
--With assistance from Ercan Ersoy and Patrick Sykes.
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