An oil tanker that was as soon as on the centre of a disaster between Iran and the US has been boarded by “armed unauthorised persons” in army uniforms on Thursday morning off the coast of Oman.
The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKTMO), which supplies warnings to sailors within the Middle East, stated the incident started early within the morning in waters between Oman and Iran.
UKTMO described receiving a report from the ship’s safety supervisor of listening to “unknown voices over the phone” alongside with the ship’s captain.
It stated it was unable to make additional contact with the vessel and that the authorities had been investigating the incident.
The personal intelligence agency Ambrey stated that “six military men” boarded the ship, which it recognized because the oil tanker St Nikolas. It stated that the boys had lined the surveillance cameras as they boarded.
The incident started early on Wednesday morning in waters between Oman and Iran, in an space the place ships coming out and in of the Strait of Hormuz cross by way of.
A big proportion of the worldwide oil commerce passes by way of the Strait of Hormuz, even supposing lately waters across the strait have seen a sequence of ship seizures by Iran for the reason that collapse of the nation’s nuclear deal.
Iran and Oman didn’t instantly acknowledge the boarding.
The St Nikolas had earlier been named the Suez Rajan, which got here beneath the highlight in February 2022 when the group United Against Nuclear Iran stated it suspected the tanker carried oil from Iran’s Khargh Island.
For months, the ship sat within the South China Sea off the northeast coast of Singapore earlier than instantly crusing for the Texas coast with out clarification. The vessel discharged its cargo to a different tanker in August, which launched its oil in Houston as a part of a Justice Department order.
The improvement comes amid excessive tensions within the close by Red Sea, the place assaults by Houthi rebels primarily based in Yemen are disrupting delivery.
This breaking information story is being up to date and extra particulars will likely be printed shortly.
Please refresh the web page for the fullest model.
You can obtain Breaking News alerts on a smartphone or pill through the Sky News App. You can even observe @SkyNews on X or subscribe to our YouTube channel to maintain up with the newest information.
Source: information.sky.com”