Iran seizes second oil tanker in Gulf

Iran has seized a second tanker in under a week in the area of the Strait of Hormuz.

A statement from Navcent Public Affairs, a unit of the Bahrain-based US Naval Forces Central Command, said that on the 3rd IRGCN) while crossing the Strait of Hormuz.

Tankertrackers.com said on its Twitter feed on Wednesday that the “empty Greek-owned Panama-flagged VLCC supertanker NIOVI (9292498) was seized by the Iranian IRGCN this morning.” The Vesselfinder.com website gave information citing the seized VLCC’s dead weight of 309,000 tons.

The official state news agency IRNA said that Tehran’s Prosecutor’s Office and Revolutionary Prosecutor’s Office announced later on Wednesday that the Niovi oil tanker had been seized “following a private complaint and a subsequent order by the relevant judicial authorities.”

A previous incident occurred six days ago when the Islamic Republic of Iran Navy seized the Marshall Islands-flagged oil tanker Advantage Sweet while transiting international waters in the Gulf of Oman, Navcent said.

Official US Navy video showed up to 12 IRGCN skiffs swarming the tanker, apparently forcing it to alter course into Iranian waters.

“The oil tanker was leaving Dubai and en route from the Arabian Gulf to the port of Fujairah in the United Arab Emirates when a dozen IRGCN fast attack boats ambushed the ship in the middle of the strait. The IRGCN then forced the oil tanker to reverse course and head towards Iranian territorial waters off the coast of Bandar ‘Abbas, Iran,” Navcent said.

“Iran’s actions violate international law and disrupt regional security and stability. In the past two years, Iran has harassed, attacked or interfered with the navigation rights of 15 international-flagged merchant ships,” he added.

Last week, the Siuezmax tanker Advantage Sweet was similarly detained. Deutsche Welle quoted maritime security firm Ambrey as saying the seizure of Advantage Sweet was in response to the recent US seizure of an oil cargo aboard the Marshall Islands-flagged tanker Suez Rajan, which is said to be carrying sanctioned Iranian crude had smuggled.

“Iran’s harassment of ships and interference with navigation rights in regional and international waters violates international law and disrupts regional stability and security. We join the international community in calling on the Iranian government and Navy to release the ship and her crew immediately,” US State Department spokesman Vidant Patel said.

Source: News Network