Reuters
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Iran confirmed on Saturday that its Revolutionary Guards had seized a tanker in Gulf waters carrying a cargo of petrochemicals certain for Singapore over alleged violations, Iranian state media reported.
A US official and maritime safety sources had mentioned on Friday that Iranian forces intercepted the oil merchandise tanker and diverted it into Iranian territorial waters. It was the primary report of Tehran seizing a tanker since Israeli-US strikes on Iran in June.
Iranian state-run tv learn an announcement from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) stating that “the tanker was in violation for carrying unauthorized cargo.” It didn’t present additional particulars of the alleged violations.
The Marshall Islands-flagged tanker, the Talara, had been crusing off the United Arab Emirates’ coast, maritime sources mentioned, and was carrying a cargo of high-sulfur gasoil via the Indian Ocean en path to Singapore from Sharjah within the UAE.
The vessel’s supervisor Columbia Shipmanagement mentioned it misplaced contact with the Talara Friday morning round 20 nautical miles off the coast of Khor Fakkan, UAE. It added that it was working intently with related events, together with maritime safety companies and the vessel’s proprietor, to revive contact.
The ship is owned by Cyprus-based Pasha Finance.
In an announcement, the US navy mentioned it was conscious of the incident and was actively monitoring the scenario.
Iran’s IRGC has periodically seized business vessels in Gulf waters in recent times, usually citing maritime violations resembling alleged smuggling, technical infractions or authorized disputes.
Nevertheless, the US official, talking on situation of anonymity, mentioned the incident was stunning since Iran had not carried out any such operations in current months.
Iran has curbed its navy actions within the area for the reason that 12-day Israeli bombing marketing campaign in June, which was joined by america. Its final reported seizure of a vessel was in April 2024.
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