The kidnapping took place early Thursday morning. Later in the day, Iran confirmed its failure to carry out the attack.
The Iranian news agency IRNA wrote, “The Navy of the Islamic Republic of Iran detained an American oil tanker in the waters of the Gulf of Oman according to a judicial order.”
The oil tanker is Greek-owned and flagged in the Marshall Islands.
The United States calls on Iran to immediately release the ship and its crew.
– This illegal seizure of a commercial ship is just the latest behavior by Iran or has been enabled by Iran with the aim of disrupting international trade, he says Vedant Patilspokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
I heard unknown voices
It was around 03.30 on Thursday when Saint Nicholas was kidnapped.
UKMTO, a service run by the British Navy, said “four or five unauthorized masked individuals wearing black military uniforms boarded the ship.”
Unidentified voices are said to have been heard with the ship's captain during a phone conversation in relation to the incident.
After the ship was hijacked, contact with the 19-member crew was lost, and according to the UKMTO, the ship changed course towards Iran at 11:00 AM Finnish time.
The shipwreck is said to have occurred about 90 kilometers from the Omani port city of Sohar, and Omani authorities are involved, according to the UKMTO. The oil tanker was on its way from Iraq to Turkey, carrying a load of 145,000 tons of oil.
According to the Associated Press, the ship, which has a different name, was previously involved in a year-long dispute that ended with the US Justice Department confiscating 1 million barrels of Iranian oil on board.
More attacks on ships
In recent weeks, there have been more attacks on ships in other parts of the region.
Among other things, the Iran-backed Houthi movement in Yemen has carried out a number of attacks on cargo ships in the Red Sea, in some cases boarding vessels.
Among other things, the attacks led about twenty shipping companies, including the Danish shipping company Maersk, to redirect their ships, which instead of passing through the Suez Canal in Egypt, are sent on a longer journey around the entire Africa.
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