The Houthis continue their attacks in the Red Sea. And now Iran has seized a ship that has already played a role in the conflict with the USA.
Tehran – The 274 meter long “St Nikolas” was currently on its way from Basra, Iraq, to the Turkish port of Aliağ. But the tanker has not yet reached its destination – the shipping company announced that it had lost contact with the ship. Also location services like marinetraffic.com can no longer find the “St Nikolas”. The container ship's final position is reported off the coast of Oman. The Iranian News Agency IRNA spoke of a “seizure” by the Iranian navy.
Iran seizes container ship in Red Sea with 18 crew members on board
Since the outbreak of the Gaza war, the Iran-trained Houthi rebels in Yemen have repeatedly attacked ships in the Red Sea to prevent them from passing through to Israel. The Red Sea is considered one of the most important shipping routes for world trade because it connects the Mediterranean with the Indian Ocean via the Suez Canal in Egypt. With the latest incident, Iran is now also actively involved in the conflict. The Iranian warship Alborz was recently spotted in the Red Sea. The “St Nikolas” belongs to the Greek shipping company Empire Navigation. According to the shipping company, there are 18 crew members on board. The ship is said to be carrying a cargo of 145,000 tons of oil. That reports cnbc.com.
The incident is likely to deter other shipping companies from sailing through the Red Sea. Recently, the International Maritime Organization (IMO) announced that 18 logistics companies were avoiding the Red Sea route due to attacks by the Houthi rebels. There are a “significant number of companies” that have already decided to reroute their ships around South Africa “in order to reduce attacks on ships and of course the impact particularly on seafarers,” said IMO. Secretary General Arsenio Dominguez. At the beginning of the week, shipping giant Maersk announced that it would pause freight traffic through the sea and the Gulf of Aden until further notice.
Red Sea incident: Iran's revenge on the USA? Ship has already been arrested once
In mid-2023, the “St Nikolas”, then called “Suez Rajan”, was arrested by the USA for evading US sanctions. The reason given at the time by the US was that the tanker was supposed to transport Iranian oil to China, which was viewed as a violation of US punitive measures. In October, the shipping company said the incident had been resolved with the US Department of Justice. As a result, the sanctioned oil was brought to Houston to be turned over to the Justice Department. So was Iran's recent seizure a revenge for this incident?
Most recently, US President Joe Biden warned Iran to “be careful” about possible interference. Tehran has celebrated Hamas' terror attack on long-time rival Israel but denies involvement in the Oct. 7 events. By the way: Germany also wants to play an active role in the Red Sea under certain conditions.
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