Oil tanker involved in US-Iran dispute boarded by armed guards near Oman

An oil tanker involved in a dispute between the US and Iran was boarded by armed individuals east of Oman and appeared to be changing course towards Iranian waters, according to a British maritime security firm and the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) authority.

The security firm Ambrey said the Marshall Islands-flagged tanker's AIS tracking system was turned off as it headed in the direction of the Iranian port of Bandar e-Jask at the time it made the report.

The ship, which loaded in the Iraqi port of Basra, and was heading to Aliaga in western Turkey, tracking data from LSEG showed.

While Ambrey did not name the vessel, shipping tracking service TankerTrackers said the vessel was the St Nikolas, which in 2023 had been seized by the United States in a sanctions enforcement operation 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 Iranian oil to China, in violation of US sanctions.

UKMTO 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.

Thursday's incident is located closer to the Strait of Hormuz, between Oman and Iran.



Reuters