The U.S. government on Thursday confirmed reports that the Iranian navy had seized an oil tanker previously involved in a Washington-Tehran dispute over carrying U.S.-sanctioned crude.
“On Jan. 11, The Islamic Republic of Iran Navy (IRIN) unlawfully seized the Marshall Islands-flagged oil tanker St. Nikolas while the vessel was transiting the international waters of the Gulf of Oman” en route to Aliaga, Turkey, the U.S. Naval Forces Central Command said in a statement.
The state-run Islamic Republic News Agency said in a Google-translated report earlier Thursday that the Iranian navy seized the vessel St. Nikolas in the Gulf of Oman after it surrendered Iranian crude to U.S. authorities following allegations of sanctions violations. Iran says this forfeiture was actually theft.
Earlier in the day, the U.K. Marine Trade Operations said an unnamed tanker was boarded by armed individuals near the Gulf of Oman and appeared to change course toward Iranian waters.
A media spokesperson for Empire Navigation, which manages the St. Nikolas, told CNBC that the vessel was en route to the Turkish port Aliaga after loading crude from the Iraqi Basrah Oil Terminal and was staffed by 18 Philippine and one Greek crew members.
Tupras management stated that “All our refinery operations are continuing as planned and the incident has no impact on our refinery operations. There is no Turkish crew on the ship, and the issue is being followed up in cooperation with national and international authorities. “We will present it to the public.”
Various press sources
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