Oil tanker involved in U.S.-Iran dispute boarded by armed guards near Oman, diverted (updated)

Turkiye Petrol Rafinerileri AS

11/01/2024 07:10

(Adds statement from tanker operator, paragraphs 5&8)
    By Jana  Choukeir and Ahmed Elimam
       DUBAI, Jan 11 (Reuters) - An oil tanker caught up in a
dispute last year between the United States and Iran was boarded
by armed individuals off the coast of Oman on Thursday and
appeared to have changed course towards Iran, according to UK
maritime sources.
   The Marshall Islands-flagged tanker St Nikolas was boarded by
armed intruders as it sailed close to the Omani city of Sohar,
according to British maritime security firm Ambrey, and its AIS
tracking system was turned off as it headed in the direction of
the Iranian port of Bandar-e-Jask.
       In 2023 the St Nikolas was seized by the United States in
a sanctions enforcement operation when it sailed under a
different name, Suez Rajan. 
    The United States said at the time that Iran's Islamic
Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) had been trying to send
contraband Iranian oil to China, in violation of U.S. sanctions.
    The ship loaded 145,000 metric tonnes of oil in the Iraqi
port of Basra and was heading to Aliaga in western Turkey via
the Suez Canal, its operator Empire Navigation told Reuters,
adding that it had lost contact with the vessel.
    While Yemen's Iran-backed Houthis have since October
attacked commercial vessels in the Red Sea to show support for
Hamas Islamists battling the Israeli offensive in Gaza, those
incidents have been concentrated on the Bab al-Mandab Strait, to
the southwest of the Arabian Peninsula. 
    Thursday's incident is located closer to the Strait of
Hormuz, between Oman and Iran.
    The vessel is manned by a crew of 19 including 18 Filipino
nationals and one Greek national, the operator said, adding it
was chartered by Turkish oil refiner Tupras  TUPRS.IS . 
    The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO)
authority said earlier on Thursday it had received a report that
a vessel located around 50 nautical miles east of Oman's coast
was boarded by four to five armed persons.
     The armed intruders were reported to be wearing
military-style black uniforms and black masks.
        UKMTO said the chief security officer reported the
vessel had altered course towards Iranian territorial waters and
that communication with the tanker had been lost.  
    The UK authority, which provides maritime security
information, said it was unable to make further contact with the
vessel and authorities were still investigating the incident.
    The United States Navy's Fifth Fleet did not immediately
respond to a request for comment or further information.
    The Suez Rajan was carrying more than 980,000 barrels of
Iranian crude oil last year when it was seized and the oil
confiscated in the U.S. sanctions enforcement operation.
        It was unable to unload the Iranian crude for nearly two
and half months over fears of secondary sanctions on vessels
used to unload it. It was renamed the St Nikolas after unloading
the cargoes.

 (Reporting by Jana Choukeir, Ahmed Elimam and Parisa Hafezi in
Dubai; Additional reporting by Andrew Mills in Doha and
Eleftherios Papadimas in Athens; Writing by Nadine Awadalla;
Editing by Edmund Klamann and Ros Russell)
 ((Jana.Choukeir@thomsonreuters.com;))