Iran seized an oil tanker bound for the United States in the Gulf of Oman in what the U.S. Navy on Thursday said is part of Tehran’s “continued harassment” of vessels operating in international waters.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy seized the oil tanker “Advantage Sweet” on Thursday while it was passing north of Muscat, Oman’s capital. Maritime tracking data said the tanker — sailing under the flag of the Marshall Islands — had most recently been in Kuwait and was heading to Houston, Texas.
The tanker issued a distress call during the seizure by IRGC Navy personnel, according to the Middle East-based U.S. 5th Fleet.
“Iran’s actions are contrary to international law and disruptive to regional security and stability,” the 5th Fleet said Thursday in a statement. “The Iranian government should immediately release the oil tanker.”
Iran has seized at least five commercial vessels operating in the Middle East in the past two years, the U.S. Navy said, calling Tehran’s actions “a threat to maritime security and the global economy.”
Iran state television channel IRIB reported that the ship, which is registered to the Shanghai, China-based company SPDBFL according to shipping records, had been seized, but gave no more details. SPDBFL is the leasing unit of Shanghai Pudong Development Bank.
Iran’s state-controlled press also reported Thursday that Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian has just finished up a two-day trip to Muscat for talks with top Omani officials. The focus of the talks was reportedly seeking to build on a 2016 regional accord to create an international transport and transit corridor in the heavily trafficked waters between Central Asia and the Persian Gulf. Nearly 20% of the world’s oil passes through the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow waterway between Iran and Oman.
The Reuters news agency, citing the maritime security company Ambrey, said the tanker was boarded via helicopter and seized by Iranian forces off the coast of Bandar-e Jask in Iran.
• Mike Glenn can be reached at mglenn@washingtontimes.com.