A bunch of armed males in “military-style” uniforms reportedly boarded an oil tanker off the Gulf of Oman on Thursday, a U.Ok.-based maritime threat administration firm mentioned.
In the newest spate of transport incidents within the area, the Marshall Islands-flagged St. Nikolas was boarded at about 7:30 a.m. (3.30 a.m. GMT) 50 nautical miles east of Sohar in Oman after which headed towards Bandar-e-Jask in Iran, in keeping with British agency Ambrey.
“The individuals covered the vessel’s cameras,” Ambrey reported, including {that a} safety officer “reported hearing unknown voices over the phone along with the master’s voice.”
“The armed suspects are reportedly wearing ‘military-style black uniforms with black masks,'” it added.
The incident was additionally reported by United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations, a British maritime safety company.
The St. Nikolas was crusing from the Iraqi port of Basra to Türkiye, in keeping with Marine Traffic, a monitoring web site.
Ambrey mentioned the just lately renamed tanker was beforehand prosecuted and fined for carrying sanctioned Iranian oil, which was confiscated by U.S. authorities.
“Iran has previously taken action against those it has accused of cooperating with the U.S.,” it added.
The Gulf of Oman, a key route for the oil trade that separates Oman and Iran, has witnessed a sequence of hijackings and assaults over time, usually involving Iran.
Shipping within the resource-rich area can be on heightened alert following weeks of drone and missile assaults by Yemen’s Houthi rebels within the Red Sea.
Earlier Wednesday, The United Nations Security Council demanded an instantaneous finish to the Houthi assaults on transport.
The decision handed “demands that the Huthis immediately cease all such attacks, which impede global commerce and undermine navigational rights and freedoms as well as regional peace and security.”
It handed after Russia, in addition to China, Mozambique and Algeria abstained.
Source: www.dailysabah.com