A Hong Kong-flagged tanker was briefly detained in Iran before being freed, as armed Iranian guards in speedboats directed the vessel into its waters while it was sailing through the Gulf of Oman.
According to Reuters, the SC Taipei chemical tanker was sailing in international waters on April 14, when it was stopped by Iran. In addition, sources report that the ship was briefly detained in Iran before receiving permission to sail.
The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) had also reported on the incident, saying that armed men had boarded an unnamed vessel at anchor in the Gulf of Oman but the ship was later released. It described the episode as an “isolated incident of state-based intervention, with no wider threat to maritime shipping in the region.”
As Ambrey Intelligence reports, the IRGC had stepped up activity in recent weeks throughout the Strait of Hormuz, hailing ships via VHF radio systems and carrying out brief interdictions.
This brings back memories of last year, when Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) detained a Swedish-owned tanker which was held for weeks in Iran after UK had detained an Iranian tanker off the territory of Gibraltar.