- By Kathryn Armstrong
- BBC News
January 11, 2024, 2:42 p.m. GMT
Updated 1 hour ago
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Iran has warned it would respond to the US seizure last year of the same ship, previously named Suez Rajan (file image).
Iran has seized a Marshall Islands-flagged oil tanker in the Gulf of Oman.
Armed men wearing masks reportedly boarded the ship St. Nikolas near the Omani port of Sohar and ordered it to head to an Iranian port.
Iranian state media, citing the Navy, said the seizure was in retaliation for the ship and the oil on board being seized by the United States last year.
The St. Nikolas was in transit between the Iraqi port of Basra and its intended destination in Turkey.
UK Maritime Trade Operations said on Thursday it had received a report that four to five “unauthorized persons”, reportedly wearing “black military uniforms with black masks”, had boarded the ship at 0330 GMT.
They added that communications with the ship were lost and authorities were investigating.
Iranian state media quoted the army as saying the ship was American despite being Greek-owned.
The company that manages it, Empire Navigation, said it was loaded with 145,000 tons of crude oil and had 18 Filipinos and a Greek citizen on board as crew.
The St. Nikolas was seized by the United States in April under its former name, Suez Rajan, as part of enforcement of sanctions against Iran.
Suez Rajan Limited, which previously chartered the ship, later pleaded guilty to conspiring to violate sanctions by secretly selling and transporting oil abroad on behalf of Iran.
The U.S. called for the immediate release of the ship and its crew, calling the seizure the latest attempt by Iran to disrupt international trade.
“We believe these types of measures will only increase uncertainty for commercial shipping and the regional and global economy,” said Vedant Patel, a US State Department spokesman.
This latest act appears to be independent of attacks carried out by Yemeni Houthi rebels in the Red Sea on the opposite side of the Arabian Peninsula.
Thursday's incident occurred in a different ocean than the Houthis' usual area of operations – where they have attacked any ships they suspected of being linked to Israel in retaliation for the country's actions in Gaza.
Aircraft carriers and warships shot down 21 drones and missiles fired by the Iran-backed group on Tuesday evening.
The UN Security Council passed a resolution on Wednesday calling for an immediate end to Houthi attacks.