Iran seized a Marshall Islands-flagged oil tanker in the
Gulf of Oman in international waters on Thursday, the US Navy said, the latest
in a series of seizures or attacks on commercial vessels in sensitive Gulf
waters since 2019.
Iran's
army said it had seized a Marshall Islands-flagged oil tanker in the Gulf of
Oman after it collided with an Iranian boat, injuring several crewmen, Iranian
state media reported.
"Two
members of the boat's crew are missing and several were injured due to the
collision of the ship with the boat," an army statement said.
The US Navy identified the vessel as the Advantage Sweet.
According to Refinitiv ship tracking data, it is a Suezmax crude tanker that
had been chartered by oil major Chevron and had last docked in Kuwait.
Chevron said it is aware of the situation involving the
Advantage Sweet and is in contact with the vessel operator with the hope of
resolving this situation as soon as possible, a spokesperson said.
The vessel's destination was listed as the US Gulf of Mexico
port of Houston, ship tracking data showed.
The Marshall Islands Maritime Administrator said it was
aware of the situation and was in communication with the vessel's
owner/operator.
"Iran's
continued harassment of vessels and interference with navigational rights in
regional waters are a threat to maritime security and the global economy,"
the US Navy said, adding Iran has in the past two years unlawfully seized at
least five commercial vessels in the Middle East.
The US Navy added that after sending a P-8 Poseidon maritime
patrol aircraft to monitor the situation, "we have since been able to
determine the IRIN (Iranian navy) conducted the seizure".
About a
fifth of the world's crude oil and oil products passes through the Strait of
Hormuz, a narrow choke point between Iran and Oman which the Advantage Sweet
had passed through, according to data from analytics firm Vortexa.
Maritime security company, Ambrey said the vessel had been
boarded via helicopter. "The vessel did not show any signs of conducting
evasive maneuvers prior to the incident," it said.
Munro Anderson, with maritime security company Dryad, said
separately that Iran usually detained vessels for "leverage or
signalling".
"The
working hypothesis at the moment is that it could either be an arbitrary
detention of a vessel by Iran in response to the US sailing its first unmanned
vessel through the region last week - as a show of force," he said.
"Or, it could be in response to the sanctions on the 24th (of April) by
the US against personnel in Iran connected to the IRGC (elite Revolutionary
Guards)."
Since 2019 there have been a series of attacks on shipping
in the strategic Gulf waters at times of tension between the United States and
Iran.
Iran last November released two Greek-flagged
tankers it seized in the Gulf in May in response to the confiscation of oil by
the United States from an Iranian-flagged tanker off the Greek coast.
Indirect talks between Tehran and Washington to revive
Iran's 2015 nuclear pact with world powers have stalled since September over a
range of issues, including the Islamic Republic's violent crackdown on popular
protests, Tehran's sale of drones to Russia and acceleration of its nuclear
program.
The US Navy Fifth Fleet is based at the Gulf island state of
Bahrain, called on Iran to immediately release the tanker.
The ship issued a distress call during the seizure, the U.S.
Navy statement said.
According to the International Maritime Organization
shipping database, the Advantage Sweet is owned by a China-registered company
called SPDBFL No One Hundred & Eighty-Seven (Tianjin) Ship Leasing Co Ltd.
