Iranian Naval Forces Seize American Oil Tanker

The Iranian naval forces have announced the seizure of an American oil tanker in the waters of the Arabian Sea. This was reported by Tasnim.

The seizure was carried out in the context of executing a court order, explained the Iranian naval forces. The seized tanker had been confiscated by the United States in September 2023 from the Greek shipping company Empire Navigation for transporting Iranian oil in violation of sanctions.

Today, the maritime commercial transport coordination center affiliated with the British naval forces reported that armed individuals had boarded a ship 50 nautical miles east of Suhar. Communication with the tankers was lost during this event.

There were 19 people on board. According to Reuters, the tanker in question is the St. Nikolas, owned by Empire Navigation. The agency noted that it was transporting Iraqi oil from Basra to Turkey via the Suez Canal. The vessel was chartered by the Turkish company Tupras. Al Jazeera reported that the ship was previously known as Suez Rajan.

In 2022, the U.S. Department of Justice announced that the tanker was transporting Iranian crude oil from the Henry Islands in the Persian Gulf while evading sanctions. The department seized 1 million barrels of oil being transported by Suez Rajan, directly implicating the ship in such activities.