Iran confirms it was behind tit-for-tat seizure of tanker off Oman
Update: Iran confirms its navy was behind the armed boarding and seizure of a Marshall Islands-flagged tanker off the Oman coast in the latest chapter of Middle East security threats to shipping
The suezmax St Nikolas, formerly known as Suez Rajan, has been at the centre of a year-long dispute that ultimately saw the US seize, then sell, a cargo of 1m barrels of Iranian crude oil for $83.5m last year
OFFICIAL confirmation has been given that the tanker formerly known as Suez Rajan, which was at the centre of a long-running cargo seizure dispute between Iran and the US, was seized by armed Iranian naval forces.
The public relations department of the Iranian Navy announced via several state-operated media outlets on Thursday that the seizure had taken place on the basis of what it described as “a court order” as it said that the tanker Suez Rajan had earlier “stolen an Iranian oil cargo and handed it over to the US”.
The navy confirmed that the Marshall Islands-flagged tanker, now renamed St Nikolas (IMO: 9524475), was being taken to an unidentified southern Iranian port.
St Nikolas, which is owned by Greece-based Empire Navigation and was under charter by Turkish oil company Tupras, was boarded by four or five armed men at approximately 0330 hrs local time 50 nautical miles south of Oman.
The tanker has been at the centre of a year-long dispute that ultimately saw the US Justice Department seize, then sell, the 1m barrels of Iranian crude oil on it for $83.5m last year.
Empire confirmed that it had lost contact with the vessel early on Thursday. The Stamatis Molaris-led company said the vessel is manned with 19 crew members, comprising 18 Filipinos and one Greek national.
The tanker was carrying a cargo of about 145,000 tonnes of crude oil loaded in Basrah, Iraq, which was destined for Aliaga in Türkiye, via the Suez Canal.
“Empire Navigation have activated their emergency plan, notified the pertinent authorities and are making every effort to restore communication with St Nikolas,” said the company.
The St Nikolas’ history under its former name, Suez Rajan, appears to have provided the rationale for the tanker being targeted.
A target for Iran
US authorities sold an Iranian oil cargo seized from St Nikolas in the past year to an undisclosed buyer for $83.5m.
That sale brought the total sales of Iranian oil seized by the US since 2020 to $290m — a programme that has drawn anger from Tehran.
The investigation into St Nikolas, kicked off in February 2022 when US pressure group United Against Nuclear Iran alerted US authorities that the vessel had engaged in a ship-to-ship transfer with the very large crude carrier Virgo (IMO: 9236250), which loaded its cargo in Kharg Island, Iran.
The Marshall Islands-flagged, 158,574 dwt tanker anchored off Malaysia for more than a year as investigations were ongoing, and ultimately set sail to Houston in April after US authorities forfeited its cargo.
In retaliation, Iran then hijacked the Chevron-chartered Advantage Sweet (IMO: 9587192). Two other tankers — the VLCC Niovi (IMO: 9292498) and the 9,000 dwt Purity (IMO: 9408358) — were hijacked by Iran within two weeks of the incident, but these actions did not appear to have a US nexus.
Suez Rajan arrived in US shores in May, but did not begin offloading its cargo until August because shipowners were reluctant to lighter its cargo amid fears of Iranian retaliation.
The vessel’s operator, Empire Navigation, ultimately dispatched a tanker from the Middle East Gulf to begin ship-to-ship operations and offload the cargo in Houston.
Around the conclusion of cargo’s offloading operations, the US Department of Justice revealed that Empire Navigation pled guilty to violating US sanctions, in what was the first criminal resolution involving the sale and transport of Iranian oil.
Proceeds from the oil sale totalled $74.6m after costs. Funds raised from these seizures typically go to a US fund for victims of terrorism.
Possible air strikes
The apparent seizure of St Nikolas comes after weeks of attacks by Yemen’s Iranian-backed Houthi rebels on shipping in the Red Sea, including their largest barrage ever of drones and missiles launched late Tuesday.
In the wake of that attack, the UN Security Council met on Wednesday evening. That meeting resulted in a carefully worded demand that Yemen’s Houthis immediately end attacks on ships in the Red Sea.
The demand came in a Security Council resolution that also called on the Houthis to release Galaxy Leader (IMO: 9237307), which was seized by the Houthis on November 19, along with its 25 crew members who are still being held.
While the UN resolution saw four members, including veto-wielding Russia and China, abstaining from the vote, none voted against it, indicating the possibility of further action to come.
Both the US and UK have hinted that they could take military action against Yemen’s Houthi rebels.
Earlier on Wednesday, the US and several allies warned of “consequences” for the Houthi attacks in the Red Sea. Asked about potential strikes in Yemen, UK Defence Secretary Grant Shapps said: “Watch this space.”
The Houthis, meanwhile, have dismissed the UN Security Resolution as “a political game”.
“The Republic of Yemen will consider any step to legitimise the militarisation of the Red Sea as a response and support to protect Israeli ships or those heading to the occupied Palestinian territories so that Israel will continue to commit the massacres and genocide that America declared in its veto to stop,” said Houthi spokesperson Mohammed Ali al-Houthin in a statement issued via the social platform X on Wednesday.
The UN resolution demanded “that the Houthis immediately cease all such attacks, which impede global commerce and undermine navigational rights and freedoms as well as regional peace and security”.
