According to Tehran, the Marshall Islands-flagged vessel was seized on the basis of a court order because it was allegedly transporting 30,000 tons of unauthorized petrochemical cargo. The US 5th Fleet, which patrols the region, said it was actively monitoring the situation
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards confirmed on Saturday that they had seized a Marshall Islands-flagged oil tanker in the Persian Gulf. TASR informs about it according to the AFP agency.
- Iran detained an oil tanker with allegedly unauthorized cargo.
- The tanker was transporting 30,000 tons of petrochemical products to Singapore.
- The US Navy is monitoring the situation.
The tanker was allegedly transporting 30,000 tons of unauthorized petrochemical cargo
“Yesterday morning at 7:30 a.m., after a judicial authority ordered the seizure of the cargo of an oil tanker with the trade name Talara and the flag of the Marshall Islands, the rapid response units of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) maritime force monitored its movement, detained and seized it,” the IRGC statement said.
According to Iran, the tanker was transporting 30,000 tons of “unauthorized” petrochemical cargo to Singapore. The vessel sailed from Ajman in the United Arab Emirates and was headed for the Strait of Hormuz. As three small boats approached it, there was a “sudden deviation from course”, said Ambrey, which deals with maritime safety.
Monitoring the situation
The US Navy is “actively monitoring the situation”. “Commercial vessels are entitled to largely unrestricted rights of navigation and commerce on the high seas,” said the US 5th Fleet, which patrols the region.
The Strait of Hormuz is a strategic waterway for the transportation of oil and liquefied natural gas, and similar incidents have occurred there in the past. Last year, the Revolutionary Guards seized a container ship they claimed had ties to Tel Aviv after a deadly attack on the Iranian consulate in Syria. Israel was blamed for the attack on the consulate.
