Strait of Homs: Oil tanker docked in Gulf of Oman

Britain's maritime trade watchdog said unauthorized men in military uniform boarded an oil tanker in the Gulf of Oman on Thursday morning. A private security firm also reported the incident, but no details are known.

Britain's UK Maritime Trade Operations said the incident occurred early this morning in the waters between Oman and Iran in the area where ships crossing the Strait of Hormuz, the mouth of the Persian Gulf, pass. The ship's security officer heard unknown voices on the phone. Further attempts to contact the ship were unsuccessful.

St. Nicholas» was called. The men hid surveillance cameras. “St. Nikolas” is affiliated with the Greek shipping company Empire Navigation. The Athens-based company did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The ship was formerly known as the Suez Rajan and was involved in a years-long dispute during which the US Department of Justice seized a million barrels of Iranian crude oil.

In February 2022, the United Anti-Nuclear Iran Organization suspected that the tanker was carrying oil from the Iranian island of Kharg, the most important oil supply hub in the Persian Gulf. Satellite photos and shipping data analyzed by The Associated Press at the time supported this claim.

The ship, which had been sitting for months in the South China Sea off the northeast coast of Singapore, suddenly headed for the Texas coast. The ship transferred its cargo to another tanker in August, which unloaded its oil in Houston under Justice Department orders.

In September, the shipping company Empire Navigation pleaded guilty to smuggling sanctioned Iranian crude oil and agreed to pay a $2.4 million fine.