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Iran has seized a US-bound oil tanker from international waters in the Gulf of Oman, according to the US Navy’s Central Command.
A Marshall Islands-flagged tanker, the Advantage Sweet, was taken by members of Iran’s navy, Centcom said in a statement on Thursday. Satellite tracking showed the vessel had sailed from Kuwait and was broadcasting its destination as Houston, Texas. The vessel is capable of carrying about 1mn barrels of crude.
“Iran’s actions are contrary to international law and disruptive to regional security and stability,” Centcom said.
The motive for seizure was not immediately clear.
Iran’s conventional army said in a statement on Thursday that an unknown vessel had hit an Iranian ship north of the Indian Ocean, injuring two Iranian crew, before fleeing the scene. The army said they had received “judicial permission” to track and seize the foreign tanker after boarding via helicopter, before guiding the vessel into Iranian waters.
Advantage Tankers confirmed that their vessel had been seized but said they had no knowledge of a collision or any idea why the ship had been targeted.
The crew members of the Advantage Sweet crew were all from India, Advantage said.
“The safety and welfare of our valued crew members is our number one priority,” Advantage said in a statement. “Similar experiences show that crew members of vessels taken under such circumstances are in no danger.”
Iran seized two Greek tankers in the Straits of Hormuz in 2022 and two UK tankers in 2019, both incidents following the detention of Iranian vessels by Greece and the UK.
Centcom originally placed the blame on the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy but later updated its statement to say the action had been taken by Iran’s regular navy.
The strait, which separates Iran from the Gulf states, is one of the world’s most important shipping lanes for oil. Approximately a third of all seaborne oil cargoes pass through each day, according to the US Energy Information Administration. Oil prices, which have weakened in recent days, rebounded slightly on Thursday, with Brent crude gaining 0.7 per cent to $78.26 a barrel.
The seizure comes against the backdrop of continued tensions in US-Iranian relations. Talks over the revival of the 2015 nuclear pact, which former US president Donald Trump abandoned in 2018, have stalled. Western powers want Iran to radically reverse its nuclear programme in return for the US rejoining the pact and lifting a swath of sanctions against its economy, including oil exports.
“Iran’s continued harassment of vessels and interference with navigational rights in regional waters are a threat to maritime security and the global economy,” Centcom said, adding that the US Fifth Fleet was monitoring the situation.
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