Iran seized the tanker St Nikolas, which was coming to Turkey

Iran reportedly seized oil Tanker heading to refinery in Turkey

It was reported that a ship carrying Iraqi oil was seized by a group of Iranian soldiers affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in the Gulf of Oman and headed towards the Iranian port of Jask.

An online tracking service tracked the ship to St. Louis, formerly called Suez Rajan. He identified it as St. Nikolas.

It was reported that a ship carrying Iraqi oil was seized by a group of Iranian soldiers affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in the Gulf of Oman and headed towards the Iranian port of Jask.

The semi-official Tasnim news agency said on January 11 that the ship was seized by Iran's judicial decision about 50 nautical miles east of Oman's Suhar city. The incident occurred near the Strait of Hormuz between Oman and Iran.

UK-based maritime security company Ambrey said the ship was boarded by about six "unauthorised" people, armed with guns and wearing black military uniforms, who arrived on a boat flying the Marshall Islands flag.

"The Iranian Navy announced that an American oil tanker was seized by judicial order in the Gulf of Oman," an army statement carried by Iranian state media said. It was said, but it is not clear why the tanker was identified as American.

Private online tracking service TankerTrackers said the ship was previously seized by the US for violating international sanctions by carrying Iranian oil. He identified it as the Nikolas ship. The cargo was unloaded before the ship, then called the Suez Rajan, was released.

It was reported that the ship was carrying Iraqi oil from the Iraqi port of Basra and was heading towards the Tüpraş refinery in Turkey's Aliağa port.

In July 2023, Iran threatened retaliation for the US seizure of the Rajan of Suez, increasing tensions between Washington and Tehran.

Iran is reeling from crippling US sanctions targeting Iran's oil exports, which were reimposed after the US unilaterally withdrew from the Iran nuclear deal reached with six world powers in 2018.

Tehran is creating a "dark fleet" of oil tankers to bypass sanctions and unload smuggled Iranian oil that helps keep Iran's economy afloat.

Statement from Tüpraş

In the statement made by Tüpraş, the following statements were made:

"Communication with the Marshall Islands-flagged ship named St. Nikolas, owned by the Greek shipowner Empire Navigation, was interrupted off the coast of Oman at around 06:30 on January 11, 2024. The ship in question was the ship we purchased from the Iraqi state oil company SOMO and was transported from Basra Port. It carries approximately 140 thousand tons of crude oil, which is on its way to be delivered to our refinery. All our refinery operations continue as planned and the incident has no impact on our refinery operations.

There is no Turkish crew on the ship, and the issue is being followed up in cooperation with national and international authorities.