Iran Seizes Second Oil Tanker in a Week

On Wednesday, the Islamic Republic of Iran seized another oil tanker in the Persian Gulf waters, according to United States Navy officials, escalating tensions again in the Middle East.

According to US Navy Officials of the Fifth Fleet near the Gulf Arab state of Bahrain, a Panama-flagged oil tanker NIOVI was captured by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy (IRGCN) at 6:20 AM (0220 GMT) as it was passing through the Strait of Hormuz.

In Tehran, the Islamic Republic Judiciary's Mizan News agency said that the oil tanker was captured on a judicial order following a complaint by a plaintiff. The seized tanker traveled from Dubai toward the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Fujairah port when it was forced by IRGCN craft to change course.

According to Refinitiv ship tracking data, the tanker last reported its position off the coast of Oman in the Strait of Hormuz with Fujairah as its destination. The International Maritime Organization shipping database shows that the Grand Financing Co owns NIOVI, and the vessel itself is operated by Smart Tankers Inc.

On social media, the US Navy published a video of the incident, showing around dozen of IRGC fast-attack craft swarming the NIOVI tanker, forcing the merchant vessel to reverse its course into Iranian territorial waters.

The U.S. Navy has published this video of the incident: pic.twitter.com/8D4dx6iW5J
— Jason Brodsky (@JasonMBrodsky) May 3, 2023

On Twitter, Claire Jungman, the Chief of Staff of United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI), posted the location of the captured tanker residing in the anchorage North of Larak Island, Iran.

We have located the tanker NIOVI in the anchorage north of Larak Island, #Iran. ADVANTAGE SWEET remains in the Bandar Abbas anchorage northeast of where NIOVI can be found. #OOTT #UANIShipping https://t.co/iwC5Idiv37 pic.twitter.com/Z2choXEE25
— Claire Jungman (@claire_jungman) May 3, 2023

Around a fifth of the world's oil production passes through the Strait of Hormuz in the Persian Gulf, a narrow choke point between the Islamic Republic of Iran and the Gulf state of Oman. Since 2019, the regime in Tehran has increased its attacks on commercial and oil vessel shipments in the Gulf waters, attacking Israeli, Saudi, and US vessels.

Following the attacks, the Trump administration enacted severe consequences against the Islamic Republic, killing IRGC Quds-Force General Qasem Soleimani to warn the regime to cease its terrorist activities in the Persian Gulf.