Iranian special forces boarded a tanker in international waters for about five hours on Wednesday before releasing it, according to a U.S. official familiar with the matter.
Two Iranian ships were in the vicinity when staff ran around 17:30 Dubai time from a helicopter to the Wila, a Liberian flag of chemicals and oil products, said the official, who asked not to be named because they did not authorized to speak publicly.
The Wila was in the Gulf of Oman and about 20 miles from the United Arab Emirates, the official said. It went through the Strait of Hormuz, a critical choke point that borders Iran and accounts for about one-third of the world’s flowing seabed oil, on July 16, according to ship-tracking data compiled by Bloomberg.
While Iran regularly investigates ships it claims are in the water or smuggling as illegal fuel, the incident comes when US President Donald Trump looks at the UN sanctions on the Islamic Republic and renew a weapon embargo.
“Maritime bullying is actually the only stick with which Iran can beat its opponents,” said Munro Anderson, a partner at maritime security company Dryad Global. “It does not have many levies of influence and traps a fine line as it antagonizes states in the region and the US.”
The U.S. military was only involved in surveillance and did not receive a distress call, the official said. US Central Command tweeted recordings of the event on Wednesday.
The White House and National Security Council did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Officials in Iran also did not make any officials on Thursday.
Wila sails about a month off the east coast of the United Arab Emirates and is now near the port of Khor Fakkan, according to ship tracking data. The previous stop of the ship was around July 8 near the Iraqi oil terminal in Basra. There, the concept was increased, indicating that it picked up a shipment.
With a capacity of about 50,000 barrels, the Wila is small compared to the tankers that ship Middle Eastern crude. These can normally hold as much as 2 million fats.
Wila ship has been drifting from the eastern UAE for about a month, according to data for ship tracking compiled by Bloomberg
A larger oil tanker anchored by Khor Fakkan sailed to Iran in July under mysterious circumstances. The crew of the 1-million-barrel Gulf Sky said it was kapet. It left UAE waters on July 5 while being arrested pending a court decision on its property.
In May, the US raised $ 23.4 million in payments from an entity that said it was trading on behalf of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ elite Quds Force to buy the Golf Sky. It was the largest U.S. seizure of the organization’s funds. The loss of the ship resulted in a blow to US efforts to contain Iran’s activities outside its borders.
Trump’s “Maximum pressure” campaign aims to cut Iran’s exports of oil, a major source of revenue. Overseas sales fell from 2.5 million barrels per day in April 2018 to just under 200,000 barrels per month, according to The latest Bloomberg tracking data.
Bans of Venezuela
Iran has been repeatedly accused of reducing oil supplies along the Strait of Hormuz. Four oil rigs were attacked with explosives in May 2019 while they were anchored at Fujairah, less than 15 miles from Khor Fakkan. Two more were sabotaged in the Gulf of Oman in June. Iran was blamed for the incidents, but denied involvement.
The country’s navy seized a British oil tanker in the strait about two months last year, which triggered volatility in oil prices.
The US has recently stepped up efforts to restrict trade between Iran and Venezuela, which is also under US sanctions. Five Iranian tankers carrying a total of 1.5 million tons of gasoline arrived in Venezuela in May and June. U.S. prosecutors said last month they wanted it occupied petrol aboard four more Venezuelan-colored Iranian ships.
– With the help of Mario Parker, and Golnar Motevalli
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