Abu Dhabi CNN —Iran has seized an oil tanker in the Gulf of Oman and is transferring it to an Iranian port in retaliation for the United States confiscating the same vessel and its oil last year, Tasnim News Agency reported Thursday.
The Strait of Hormuz at the northern end of the Gulf of Oman is the biggest oil chokepoint in the world.
A maritime monitoring website, Tanker Trackers, said the vessel seized Thursday was a Marshall Islands-flagged crude oil tanker named St Nikolas, formerly known as the Suez Rajan.
Almost 1 million barrels of Iranian crude oil were seized by the US government at the time, the DOJ said.
The Suez Rajan transported the contraband to the United States and “incurred the significant expenses associated with the vessel’s voyage to the United States,” according to the DOJ.
Persons:
St Nicholas, ”, UKMTO, Nikolas, Suez Rajan, “
Organizations:
Abu Dhabi CNN, Tasnim News Agency, Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Navy, United Nations, CNN, United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations, ship’s Company, Oil, Tanker, US Department of Justice, DOJ, Emergency Economic, Navigation
Locations:
Abu Dhabi, Iran, Gulf of Oman, Iranian, United States, Oman, Islamic Republic, Gulf, Yemen, Gaza, Africa, Israel, Hormuz, Marshall, Suez, China