Iranian Navy Temporarily Seizes Vessel, Sparking Persian Gulf Alert
Iranian naval forces seized a Hong Kong-flagged tanker and redirected the vessel into Iranian waters before releasing it, according to Western and Emirati officials, prompting a warning Tuesday to ships along the Persian Gulf’s key oil export route.
The alert comes amid mounting Iranian assertiveness along the key oil export route, say Western security officials, and as broader regional tensions simmer between Tehran and Saudi Arabia as well as Western powers.
Tankers crossing the Strait of Hormuz—near the area where the vessel was held—have been frequently stopped or approached by the Iranian navy in recent months. Over a third of the world’s seaborne oil transits through the Strait.
The vessel “was boarded by armed men” while anchored in the Persian Gulf and taken near the Iranian port of Ras Al Kuh, said the United Kingdom Marine Trade Operations, which liaises between the British military in the region and commercial shippers.
“Vessels transiting the area are advised to exercise caution,” the UKMTO said.
The tanker was inspected on suspicion that it was about to load smuggled products and was then released, said a Western maritime security official. The Islamic Republic’s navy routinely arrests vessels that carry subsidized Iranian oil which is banned for export.
The vessel’s registered owner, SC Taipei Shipping Co. Ltd. of Singapore, couldn’t be reached for comment.
The redirected vessel had last given its destination as the oil hub of Jubail in Saudi Arabia four days ago but had been anchored and idle ever since, according to shipping data from shipping-tracking website FleetMon.
Until recently, the vessel was run by Chinese company Aoxing Ship Management Shanghai Ltd., according to IHS Maritime, until that company came under U.S. sanctions for the petrochemical products from Iran in March. Aoxing, whose Singapore office is located at the same address at Taipei Shipping, didn’t return a request for comment.
The UKMTO asked shippers to take precautionary measures in the Persian Gulf in January, after the U.S. killed a top Iranian general in Iraq, to which Tehran retaliated with strikes on U.S. forces there. In late March, another vessel was approached by skiffs near the Iranian coastline but managed to escape, it said.
Producers in the region say they fear they could be caught in a broader conflict after Saudi oil facilities were attacked by missiles and drones in September and tankers were struck last summer in the Persian Gulf. Washington and Riyadh have accused Iran of being behind those attacks, which Tehran has denied.
Last summer, Iran seized a British-flagged tanker in retaliation for the seizure of an Iranian vessel by the British territory of Gibraltar, only releasing it when Tehran’s vessel was freed.Photo: Last summer, Iran seized a British-flagged tanker. Tankers have been frequently stopped or approached by the Iranian navy in recent months. - HASAN SHIRVANI/MIZAN NEWS AGENCY/ASSOCIATED PRESS
