Authorities of Iran released a video on Saturday, showing how the country’s Navy seized the Greek-owned oil tanker St Nicholas on Thursday.
The video shows a helicopter approaching the tanker and armed men ordering the crew to lay down on the deck. Immediately, the occupiers took control of the vessel and cut any communication with the rest of the world.
Footage of the St. Nikolas tanker that was seized and retaken by the Iranian navy in the Gulf of Oman.
The US captured the tanker in April 2023, seizing one million barrels of Iranian crude oil in the process. pic.twitter.com/iwUKJS1aYP
— The Cradle (@TheCradleMedia) January 12, 2024
The Greek-owned oil tanker St Nikolas, sailing under a Marshall Islands flag, that was seized by a group of five gunmen off the coast of Oman on Thursday has now anchored at the port of Bandar Abbas in Iran, Greek state-run news agency amna reported on Friday.
The Greek Foreign Ministry has assumed responsibility for ensuring the safety and repatriation of a Greek national, a 20-year-old trainee captain, who is part of the tanker’s crew.
In the latest announcement from ship owner Empire Navigation, the safety of the 19-member crew – 18 Filipinos and one Greek – aboard the St Nikolas remains the top priority. The company has promptly informed the relevant authorities and is in constant communication with them, as well as with the families of the crew members.
The tanker departed from Basra in Iraq a few days ago, loaded with approximately 145,000 barrels of crude oil destined for Aliaga in Turkey via the Suez Canal. The vessel’s charterer was Tupras, amna reported.
Iranian media reported on Thursday afternoon that the oil tanker was seized by Iran’s Navy.
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