The United States (U.S.) has called on Iran to immediately release an oil tanker seized by the country’s navy in the Gulf of Oman on the order of the judiciary.
“The Iranian government must immediately release the ship and its crew,’’ Deputy U.S. State Department Spokesperson Vedant Patel said in Washington on Thursday.
“This unlawful seizure of a commercial vessel is just the latest behaviour by Iran or enabled by Iran aimed at disrupting international commerce.
“Iran and Iran-abled provocative actions like this are a menace to the global economy and it must cease.
“We in the United States will continue to work to deter and confront the full range of Iran’s concerning and destabilising behaviours,’’ said the spokesman.
Iran’s navy on Thursday seized a tanker in the Gulf of Oman on the order of the judiciary.
This is according to state news agency IRNA, with the Islamic Republic accusing the ship of stealing Iranian oil and forcing it to change course to an Iranian port.
The St Nikolas tanker was at the centre of a dispute between Tehran and the United States last year.
The ship, which was previously registered under the name Suez Rajan, was seized by the U.S. last April.
The Greek shipping company Empire Navigation previously confirmed to dpa that the St Nikolas had been hijacked off of Oman, but did not say who was behind the seizure.
A crew of 19, including 18 seamen from the Philippines and one from Greece, was on board the Marshall Islands-flagged St Nikolas, the company said.
The ship had previously picked up oil in Basra, Iraq, and was on its way to the Suez Canal and then on to the Turkish harbour city of Aliağa.
The British military’s United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations tweeted that the ship was around 50 nautical miles.
50 nautical miles east of the Omani port city of Sohar when four or five masked men in black military clothing boarded the tanker.
Contact with the St Nikolas was then broken off, the ship changed course and headed towards Iranian waters.
There have been repeated incidents involving tankers in the Gulf of Oman in recent years, leading to heightened tensions.
The Strait of Hormuz, between Iran and Oman, is one of the world’s most important shipping routes for global oil exports.
The strait is only around 55 kilometres wide.
Since the outbreak of the Gaza war on Oct, 7, tensions in the region have increased significantly on sea routes.
In particular, the Houthi rebels in Yemen, who were allied with Iran, have repeatedly attacked tankers with supposed links to Israel. (dpa/NAN). READ ALSO:
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