The United States demanded this Thursday (11) that Iran immediately release the oil tanker captured in the Sea of Oman and asked Tehran to stop all activities that “disrupt” international trade.
Although the Iranian Navy announced that the captured vessel is an “American oil tanker”, the US State Department stated that the vessel identified as St Nikolas is Greek-owned and sailed under the flag of the Marshall Islands.
“The Iranian government must immediately release the ship and its crew. This illegal seizure of a commercial vessel is the latest example of Iran's behavior aimed at disrupting international commerce,” said State Department Deputy Spokesperson Vedant Patel.
Patel called on Tehran to stop these types of “provocations” because they “increase uncertainty in maritime transport” and pose “a threat to the global economy”.
According to the Greek state agency AMNA, the ship was being crewed by a total of 19 people, one of Greek nationality and 18 of Filipino nationality. The agency points out that it was carrying around 145 thousand tons of oil.
The Iranian Navy announced on Thursday the capture of the oil tanker in the Sea of Oman, an action taken in response to the US seizure of oil from the Persian country last year.
In 2023, the American Department of Justice ended up seizing one million barrels of Iranian crude oil that was transported on a ship sailing under the name “Suez Rajan”.
The incident involving the Greek ship occurs in a context of increased attacks by Yemen's Houthi militia, an ally of Tehran, against ships in the Red Sea in retaliation for Israel's offensive in the Gaza Strip.
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