Iran Seizes Second Gulf Oil Tanker Amid Increasing Tension With US

The Iranian army's naval force seized another oil tanker in the Gulf of Oman
US State Department called for oil tanker's release
The incident comes after Iran seized a Marshall Islands-flagged oil tanker

The US Navy reported on Wednesday that Iran had detained a second oil tanker in a week, raising tensions in one of the world's most important shipping routes as Tehran pushes up retribution for the American seizure of a shipment of its petroleum.

The Niovi, a Panama-flagged oil tanker, was heading from Dubai to the United Arab Emirates port of Fujairah in the Gulf of Oman when it was captured by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy, according to a statement from the US Navy.

Iran's Revolutionary Guard Seizes Oil Tanker

It said that "dozens of IRGCN fast-attack vessels swarmed the vessel in the middle of the Strait of Hormuz" and "forced the oil tanker to change course" into Iranian territorial waters. The Strait of Hormuz is the world's busiest oil shipping path, with nearly one-third of all seaborne petroleum cargoes passing through the small strait that connects Iran to the Gulf Arab states.

Last week, Iran seized a Marshall Islands-flagged oil tanker in the Gulf of Oman, sailing from Kuwait to the United States under charter from US energy giant Chevron. The tanker is now docked in the Iranian port of Bandar Abbas.

US sources told the Financial Times that they suspected the detention of the Advantage Sweet last week was a reprisal for the US seizing a cargo of Iranian oil under a court order and rerouting it to sail to the US.

The Suez Express tanker resurfaced on satellite monitoring on Tuesday after sailing west past the Cape of Good Hope. Iranian media did not explain the latest seizure. However, the Mizan news agency, associated with the country's judiciary, described Tehran's prosecutor-general as stating it happened by judicial decision.

According to images supplied by the US Navy, the Niovi was empty at its seizure since it was resting high above the sea. When an oil tanker is full of crude, its draft decreases.

Since President Donald Trump reimposed sanctions on Iran in 2018 after withdrawing from the nuclear deal, the US has targeted its oil exports. However, exports from Iran increased in the second half of 2022, with analysts suspecting the US of softening sanctions enforcement as it battled to reduce energy price inflation following Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

According to Vortexa statistics, over one-fifth of the world's crude oil and oil products transit through the Strait of Hormuz, a small choke point between Iran and Oman.

US-Iran Tensions

During tension between the US and Iran, there have been a series of attacks on shipping in the strategic Gulf waters since 2019, as per Al Arabiya.

Indirect talks between Tehran and Washington to relaunch Iran's 2015 nuclear agreement with world powers have stalled since September due to various issues, including the Islamic Republic's violent crackdown on popular protests and the sale of drones to Russia and the acceleration of Iran's nuclear program.

According to Aljazeera, the 5th Fleet described the act as a violation of international law and a "threat to maritime security and the global economy."

However, Iran claimed that a Turkish-operated, Chinese-owned tanker, Advantage Sweet, which was carrying Kuwaiti crude oil for US energy firm Chevron Corp and was bound for Houston, Texas, collided with an Iranian vessel leaving several crew members missing and injured.

Iran further said that the Advantage Sweet, which had a crew of roughly two dozen Indians, had proceeded through the Strait of Hormuz and departed the scene despite numerous warnings.

However, Western media reported that the vessel was seized in response to the US seizing an oil tanker days earlier to impose unilateral sanctions on Tehran. Late on Wednesday, the US urged Iran to release the ship.

"Iran's harassment of vessels and interference with navigational rights in regional and international waterways violates international law and undermines regional peace and security," said Vedant Patel, a State Department spokesperson.

Tehran and Washington have already participated in such tit-for-tat maneuverings. The US attempted to intercept an Iranian oil shipment near Greece last year, leading Iran to capture two Greek tankers and keep them for months.

The cargo was eventually restored to Iran by the Greek Supreme Court, and the Greek warships were also released. The seizure occurred on Wednesday, as Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi arrived in Damascus for a two-day visit, meeting Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in what Tehran described as a "strategic success" in the area in the face of American political failures.