Oil tanker with 18 Filipino crewmen boarded by armed group near Oman

St Nikolas ship X1 oil tanker involved in U.S.-Iran dispute in the Gulf of Oman which state media says was seized is seen in the Tokyo bay, Japan, October 4, 2020, in this handout picture. REUTERS FILE PHOTO

DUBAI/ATHENS — An oil tanker caught up in a dispute last year between the United States and Iran was boarded by armed individuals off the coast of Oman on Thursday and appeared to have changed course toward Iran, according to UK maritime sources.

The Marshall Islands-flagged tanker St. Nikolas was boarded by armed intruders as it sailed close to the Omani city of Sohar, according to British maritime security firm Ambrey, and its AIS tracking system was turned off as it headed in the direction of the Iranian port of Bandar-e-Jask.

A spokesperson, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the vessel had a crew of 19, one from Greece and 18 from the Philippines, and was carrying 145,000 metric tons of oil from Basra, Iraq, to Aliaga, Turkey.

READ: DFA confirms 17 Filipino seafarers held hostage by Houthi rebels in Red Sea

2023 seizure

In 2023, the St. Nikolas was seized by the United States in a sanctions enforcement operation when it sailed under a different name, Suez Rajan.

The United States said at the time that Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps had been trying to send contraband Iranian oil to China, in violation of US sanctions.

READ: Gov’t urged ‘to do everything’ to free seized Filipino seafarers

The ship loaded 145,000 MT of oil in the Iraqi port of Basra and was heading to Aliaga in western Turkey via the Suez Canal, its operator Empire Navigation told Reuters, adding that it had lost contact with the vessel.

The vessel is manned by a crew of 19 including 18 Filipino nationals and one Greek national, the operator said, adding it was chartered by Turkish oil refiner Tupras.

Close to Hormuz

While Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis have since October attacked commercial vessels in the Red Sea to show support for Hamas Islamists battling the Israeli offensive in Gaza, those incidents have been concentrated on the Bab al-Mandab Strait, to the southwest of the Arabian Peninsula.

Thursday’s incident is located closer to the Strait of Hormuz, between Oman and Iran.

The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) authority said earlier on Thursday it had received a report that a vessel located around 50 nautical miles east of Oman’s coast was boarded by four to five armed persons. The armed intruders were reported to be wearing military-style black uniforms and black masks.

UKMTO said the chief security officer reported the vessel had altered course toward Iranian territorial waters and that communication with the tanker had been lost.