DUBAI, United Arab Emirates – The Iranian navy went on board and briefly captured a Liberian-flagged oil tanker off the strategic Strait of Hormuz amid heightened tensions between Tehran and the US, the U.S. military said Thursday.
The Central Command of the US Army published a black-and-white video show some special forces appearing to be shouting loudly from a helicopter to the MT Wila, whose last position turned out to be off the east coast of the United Arab Emirates near the city of Korðakkan.
The Iranian helicopter involved turned out to be a Sikorsky SH-3 Sea King, serving only Iran’s navy. The Iranian navy also handles all operations in the Gulf of Oman on the eastern side of the Strait of Hormuz, which trades 20 percent of all oil. Two other Iranian naval vessels took part in the seizure, Central Command said.
U.S. military officials have given no reason for occupying Iran on the ship. Iranian state media and officials did not immediately acknowledge the seizure or provide a reason for it.
Officials at the UAE, a US allied federation of seven sheikhdoms on the Arabian Peninsula, did not respond to a request for comment.
The registered owner of Wila is a Liberian company called Bandit Shipping Co., managed by Greek firm IMS SA, according to United Nations records. Both firm could be reached immediately.
The Wila had been from Khor Al Zubair, Iraq, in early July before traveling to near Dubai and later to Khörakkan, where it had been for about a month, according to data firm Refinitiv. It was not immediately clear what load it was carrying.
Private maritime intelligence agency Dryad Global said it suspected two other ships were also harassed by Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard in the Persian Gulf last week, based on the ships’ behavior.
When tensions between Iran and the US escalated last year over the one-sided Americas of the 2015 nuclear division, tankers entering the waters of the Mideast became targets, especially along the Strait of Persia, the narrow mouth of the Persian Golf. Suspected limp mine attacks the US guilty on Iran targeting several tankers. Iran refused to be involved, although it had seized several tankers.
In July, a U.S.-based oil tanker was “captured” off the coast of the United Arab Emirates after allegedly smuggling Iranian crude oil. The ship later sank back into Iranian waters, suggesting that Iran itself seized the ship.
