Iran seizes second oil tanker in week as tensions escalate
Quantum Commodity Intelligence – Iran has seized a second oil tanker in the space of a week from the strategic Strait of Hormuz amid heightened tensions over Iran's nuclear program and possible escalation in risks for vessels passing through the narrow body of water.
The Panamanian-flagged oil tanker Niovi was captured by Iran's Revolutionary Guard early Wednesday, reported the Associated Press, as the US Navy published surveillance footage shot by an aerial drone of about a dozen Guard vessels swarming the tanker.
Last week Iran's navy seized a Marshall Islands-flagged oil tanker in the Gulf of Oman, next to the Strait of Hormuz, in the latest in a series of shipping incidents attributed to the Islamic Republic.
The Advantage Sweet was listed as carrying Kuwaiti crude and headed for the US Gulf Coast. At 159,000 DWT, the vessel is classified as a large Suezmax tanker, carrying more than 1 million barrels of oil.
The seizure of the Niovi has raised further concerns over threats to maritime traffic in the strait, in which around 20% of all crude passes and a much higher percentage of seaborne oil, raising the potential of vessels having to travel in convoys under naval protection.
Disappearance
The AP also noted the latest incident comes following the disappearance of a crude oil tanker in Southeast Asia, believed to be carrying Iranian crude oil amid reports it may have been seized by the US.
A spokesman for the 5th Fleet, Cmdr. Timothy Hawkins, told the AP that Revolutionary Guard vessels "forced the oil tanker to reverse course and head toward Iranian territorial waters off the coast of Bandar Abbas, Iran.
"Iran's continued harassment of vessels and interference with navigational rights in regional waters are unwarranted, irresponsible and a present threat to maritime security and the global economy."
The Niovi had been in dry-dock for repairs in Dubai and was ballasting towards the storage and bunkering hub of Fujairah on the eastern coast of the UAE.
Some analysts have suggested the Iranian move could be part of escalating tit-for-tat action after the disappearance of the Marshall Island-flagged Suez Rajan, which had been in the South China Sea off Singapore for over a year after a report alleged it to smuggling sanctioned Iranian crude oil.
The Financial Times subsequently reported the Suez Rajan was seized on the order of US authorities while tracking data for the vessel last showed it off East Africa, moving in a direction that could take it to the US.
