The Iranian navy says it has seized an oil tanker off the coast of Oman

Iran’s navy said Thursday it had seized a ship loaded with crude oil off the coast of Oman after an armed group dressed in military uniforms and black masks boarded the ship.

The ship, previously named the Suez Rajan, was seized last year by the US government over allegations that it was transporting Iranian oil in violation of US sanctions. The ship eventually discharged the oil and continued sailing, but under a new nameSt. Nicholas.

According to a British government advisory group, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations, the ship was seized off the town of Sohar on Oman’s northern coast, near the Strait of Hormuz.

According to the advisory group, which sends maritime safety information to merchant ships, “unknown voices” were heard over the phone, along with the captain’s voice. The ship then changed course and headed towards Iranian territorial waters, causing a loss of communications, the group said.

Dimitris Roulias, a spokesman for Athens-based Empire Navigation, said Thursday morning that contact with the St. Nikolas, a ship it manages, had been lost. The ship had left the Iraqi port of Basra and was on its way to the Turkish port of Aliaga.

Ambrey, a maritime risk company, said the tanker was heading towards Bandar-e-Jask, Iran, before its location information was disabled.

“Many attempts have been made to establish communication, but without success,” Mr Roulias said. “There is no information about what exactly happens on board the ship.”

The ship has a crew of 18 Philippine nationals and one Greek national, he said. He said he had no information on the ship’s current location and could not confirm how many people had boarded.

The incident came after weeks of attacks on commercial ships in the Red Sea, located on the other side of the Arabian Peninsula, where an Iran-backed Yemeni group, the Houthi militia, has vowed no ships occur cannot reach Israel until it stops bombing Gaza.

On Wednesday, US and British officials said they intercepted one of the largest barrages yet of drones and missiles fired from an area of ​​Yemen controlled by the Houthis. Despite this, the Houthis have refused to withdraw threats of retaliation by the US and its allies.

In previous periods of heightened tensions in the Middle East, ships in the Gulf of Oman have been targeted, among others several attacks in 2019 which U.S. officials attributed to Iran, which is just 100 miles across the Gulf of Sohar.

There was no immediate statement from the government of Oman, which has friendly ties with both Iran and the United States and serves as a mediator between them.