Turkey says tanker seized by Iran carrying Turkish oil purchased from Iraq

ANKARA — Turkey’s main oil refiner Tupras said Thursday that a ship seized by Iran off the coast of Oman is laden with Turkish crude imported from Iraq. 

Iran’s navy seized the Marshall Islands-flagged tanker St Nikolas, Iranian state media reported earlier Thursday.

The move, according to the Iranian navy, came in retaliation for the confiscation of the same ship’s cargo by the United States in 2023. Under the name of Suez Rajan, the ship was laden with sanctioned Iranian oil and was bound for China before its owners were convinced by US officials to redirect to the United States.  

Tupras said in a statement that radio communication with the Greek-owned and Tupras-chartered vessel was cut off at around 6:30 a.m. Istanbul time Thursday off the coast of Oman. 

The tanker is carrying 140 metric tons of crude oil Tupras purchased from Iraqi state oil marketer SOMO and was en route to Turkey’s western port of Aliaga from Basra in Iraq, the statement added. 

The ship’s Athens-based operator, Empire Navigation, told Reuters that the vessel’s 19-member crew consisted of 18 Filipino nationals and one Greek citizen. 

Thursday’s raid came after the US Navy reduced its presence in the Gulf region and diverted part of its Navy forces to the eastern Mediterranean as part of efforts to prevent the Israel-Hamas war from spreading to the broader region. Tensions between Washington and Tehran further escalated last week after the assassination of senior Hamas official Saleh al-Arouri in a Beirut neighborhood, which is under the influence of Iran-allied Hezbollah.

Dozens of commercial shipping tankers in the region have been seized or harassed by Iran’s navy over the past few years. As Iranian attempts to seize commercial vessels increased following the confiscation of the Suez Rajan’s cargo, the United States beefed up allied patrols in Strait of Hormuz, increasing its military buildup in the region. Last year, the Biden administration also weighed a plan to deploy US Marines on commercial tankers but the plan was never approved.

Jared Szuba contributed to this report from Washington.