The incident came amid high tensions in the nearby Red Sea.
January 11, 2024, 3:38 p.m. ET
• 4 min reading
LONDON – An oil tanker was seized by the Iranian navy in the waters between Iran and Oman on Thursday, state media said.
Iran's state news agency IRNA published a brief report confirming the navy's seizure but did not identify the ship.
Empire Navigation, the ship's manager, later identified it as St. Nikolas, a Greek-owned vessel flying the Marshall Islands flag. Empire Navigation said it had not had contact with the ship since 6:30 a.m. Athens time.
The company said its main concern was the 19-member crew, made up of 18 Filipinos and one Greek national.
“Empire Navigation, as manager of the ship, notified the relevant authorities from the first moment and is in close and continuous cooperation with them and the next of kin of the crew members,” the company said in a statement.
In 2023, the same tanker was seized by the United States as part of a sanctions enforcement operation while transporting Iranian oil to China. At that time it was called Suez Rajan and was later renamed St. Nikolas.
White House spokesman John Kirby condemned the seizure of the oil tanker and called on Iran to “immediately release the ship and its crew.”
“His provocative and unacceptable actions must stop,” he said.
In this handout image is the oil tanker St. Nikolas Ship via Portal, FILE
Earlier on Thursday, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said it had received a report of several gunmen boarding a ship in the Gulf of Oman.
Four to five “unauthorized” people who were “armed” and “wearing black military uniforms with black masks” were reported to have boarded the ship early Thursday in an area about 50 nautical miles east of Sohar, a port city on Oman's northern coast a message from the UKMTO, which belongs to the British Royal Navy and warns sailors in the Middle East.
The UKMTO said the ship reportedly “changed course towards Iranian territorial waters and communications with the ship were lost.”
“Authorities are investigating,” the UKMTO added. “Vessels are advised to sail with caution and report any suspicious activity to the UKMTO.”
The incident came amid high tensions in the nearby Red Sea, where Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebel group has been attacking international ships for weeks.
ABC News' Will Gretsky and Justin R. Gomez contributed to this report.