“Iran Seizure of Oil Tanker Niovi Raises Concerns Over Commercial Vessel Safety in Strait of Hormuz”

Teheran –

The seizure of an oil tanker named Niovi raises concerns regarding the safety of commercial vessels. The Strait of Hormuz is a major oil tanker transportation route, through which one-fifth of the world’s oil exports pass. The Revolutionary Guards’ action took place after a tanker carrying Iranian oil was reportedly confiscated by the United States in Southeast Asian waters.

A drone video released by the US Navy shows Niovi being surrounded by Revolutionary Guards fast boats. The vehicle is claimed to be incidentally patrolling near the scene of the incident. However, the Niovi did not sound an emergency alarm when it was ambushed by a Revolutionary Guard vessel, said the commander of the US Navy’s Fifth Fleet, Timothy Hawkins.

According to a US Navy press release, the Revolutionary Guard vessel “forced the tanker to turn and enter Iranian territorial waters off the coast of Bandar Abbas.”

“Iran’s actions to abuse ships and interfere with the right of navigation in regional waters are a threat to maritime security and the global economy.”

The Iranian government acknowledged seizing the tanker Niovi by court order, the Mizan news agency reported, without elaborating on the alleged violations.

According to reports AFPthe Niovi ship carried 30 crew members, including those from the Philippines and Sri Lanka.

The Panama-flagged tanker Niovi is managed by a company called Smart Tankers of Piraeus in Greece. The ship was reportedly just undergoing repairs in Dubai and was headed for the east coast of the United Arab Emirates without cargo, said ship monitoring company Refinitiv.

Escalation in the Strait of Hormuz

Last week, Iran seized a tanker belonging to the US company Chevron. The ship named Advantage Sweet, which also has a Panama flag, is accused of colliding with another ship. However, authorities in Tehran have produced no visual evidence of his allegations.

Iran’s seizure of the commercial vessel is thought to be retaliation following the disappearance of an Iranian tanker flagged by Marshal Islands last week off the coast of Singapore. The ship named Suez Rajan was accused of violating the embargo and smuggling Iranian oil to China.

An investigation by the Financial Times said the US government ordered the seizure. Neither the ship’s owner nor authorities in Washington declined to comment.

Iran has a tradition of seizing commercial vessels as an act of revenge for similar actions by the US and its allies. In 2019, Iran seized two British-flagged ships after they were stopped in Gibraltar on their way to Syria. As for last year, two Greek ships were detained after Athens allowed the US to seize Iranian oil in its waters.

Escalation in the Persian Gulf has escalated since the collapse of the 2015 Nuclear Treaty. The International Nuclear Energy Agency (IAEA) reports Iran is actively enriching uranium and now has enough reserves to build “a few” nuclear warheads. The government in Tehran has since the beginning claimed its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes only.

However, Iran had time to remove IAEA surveillance cameras at its nuclear sites and limit international surveillance. Tensions have eased slightly since last March, when the IAEA was again allowed to inspect nuclear sites and reinstall surveillance cameras.

“Her work is ongoing at this time,” the UN agency wrote.

rzn/as (afp,ap)

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