The US Navy said it intervened to prevent Iran from seizing two commercial oil tankers in the Gulf of Oman on Wednesday. It was the latest in a series of attacks on ships in the area since 2019.
An Iranian naval vessel approached the Marshall Islands-flagged oil tanker TRF Moss in international waters in the Gulf of Oman, the US Navy said in a statement.
“The Iranian vessel left the scene as the US Navy guided missile destroyer USS McFaul arrived at the station,” the statement said, adding that the Navy had deployed surveillance means, including maritime patrol aircraft.
The Navy said about three hours later it received a distress call from the Bahamian-flagged oil tanker Richmond Voyager while the ship was more than 20 miles (32 km) off the coast of Muscat, Oman, and in transit through international waters. .
“Another Iranian naval vessel approached within a mile of the Richmond Voyager while calling the commercial tanker to a stop,” the Navy statement said, adding that the McFaul steered course for the merchant vessel at full speed.
“Prior to McFaul’s arrival on the scene, Iranian personnel fired multiple, long bursts of small arms and crew-armed weapons,” the Navy said.
“The Richmond Voyager suffered no significant casualties or damage. However, several shots hit the ship’s hull near the crew’s living spaces. The Iranian navy ship left when McFaul arrived.”
US oil company Chevron (CVX.N) confirmed that it was managing the Richmond Voyager, that the crew on board were safe and that the vessel was operating normally.
The manager of TRF Moss is listed in the Equasis public database as Navig8 Chemicals Asia, based in Singapore, but Navig8 told Reuters it was not linked to the tanker. The vessel’s manager was not immediately located.
No answers
Iran’s state news agency IRNA said on Wednesday that Iranian officials had yet to comment on the matter.
Vice Admiral Brad Cooper, commander of US Naval Forces Central Command, cited “the exceptional effort by McFaul’s crew to respond immediately and prevent another seizure.”
Since 2019, there have been a series of attacks on ships in strategic Gulf waters at times of tension between the United States and Iran.
Iran seized two tankers in one week, just over a month ago, the US Navy said.
“Since 2021, Iran has pursued, attacked or seized nearly 20 internationally-flagged merchant ships, posing a clear threat to regional maritime security and the global economy,” the Navy statement added.
About a fifth of the world’s supply of transoceanic crude oil and petroleum products passes through the Strait of Hormuz, a choke point between Iran and Oman, according to data from analysis firm Vortexa.
Refinitiv ship tracking data shows the Richmond Voyager previously docked at Ras Tannoura in eastern Saudi Arabia before Wednesday’s incident in the Gulf of Oman.
The Richmond Voyager was now leaving the Gulf with Singapore listed as a destination, Refinitiv ship tracking showed.
Major ship registries including the Marshall Islands and Greece have warned in recent weeks of the threat to commercial shipping in the Gulf, including the Strait of Hormuz.
In another flashpoint, the US seized a cargo of Iranian oil aboard a tanker in April in a sanctions-enforcement operation, sources told Reuters.
That vessel, the Marshall Islands-flagged Suez Rajan, is docked outside the Galveston terminal on the Gulf of Mexico, waiting to offload its cargo, according to Refinitiv ship tracking.
(Posted by Fabio Mendes)
Source: CNN Brasil
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