IRAN SEIZED ITS second tanker in seven days in an alarming escalation of risk for Greek shipowners with vessels traversing the key energy commodities chokepoint of the Strait of Hormuz
The Panama-flagged very large crude carrier Niovi (IMO: 9292498) owned by Athens-based Altomare, was located north of Larak Island 10 hours later, according to satellite imagery provided by United Against Nuclear Iran.
There are 29 crew on board from Sri Lanka and the Philippines, sources told Lloyd’s List.
The US Navy said the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy seized the tanker at 0620 hrs local time on May 3 as it sailed in international waters in the Strait of Hormuz, after a swarm of 11 small boats forced it to change course as it sailed southwards to Fujairah from Dubai.
The hijacking comes a week after the IRGC used helicopters to board and intercept the Marshall Islands-flagged suezmax Advantage Sweet (IMO: 9587192) on April 27 as it sailed through the Gulf of Oman for Houston laden with 750,000 barrels of Kuwaiti oil.
The action was widely viewed as retaliation for the US Department of Justice’s seizure of a cargo of Iran-origin oil aboard Greece-owned suezmax tanker Suez Rajan (IMO: 9524475).
The tanker, controlled by Stamatis Molaris’ company Empire Navigation, had sailed from its southeast Malaysian anchorage on April 9 westward towards Houston, signalling a probable civil forfeiture action by US courts was in place to confiscate the cargo, with the cooperation of the shipowner.
Suez Rajan was laden with Iran-origin oil and had remained at the anchorage for more than 12 months amid court action in the US on behalf of 9/11 victims seeking to take over the cargo in line with compensation payout rulings.
That action, a restraining notice to garnishee, was dropped in November court documents show.
The US legal tactic, civil forfeiture in rem, has been used previously to seize Iranian cargoes, triggering Iran to retaliate with corresponding seizure of Western-linked tankers.
The State Department has declined to comment.
Vessel-tracking shows Suez Rajan reappeared after traversing the Cape of Good Hope following an 11-day gap in its Automatic Identification System signal as it sailed past Madagascar.
The Greek Shipping Ministry has yet to reveal its response to the two events. The ministry warned shipowners of increased risk from Iran when transiting the Middle East Gulf in a circular published before the Advantage Sweet hijack.
The latest incident returns geopolitical risk in the Middle East Gulf waters to the fractious and uncertain climate of 2019, when the UK-flagged product tanker Stena Impero (IMO: 9797400) was hijacked for 10 weeks.
The action obtained leverage for Iran authorities as they negotiated the release of Iran oil on board the Iran-controlled Grace I, detained by Gibraltar’s government en route to Syria for breaching European Union sanctions.
Iran has targeted Eastern Pacific tankers in two drone attacks and hijacked other tankers over the past three years in a number of retaliatory responses to US pressure on its oil and shipping sector, which have been subject to extraterritorial sanctions for more than four years.
Niovi’s technical and ISM management is Piraeusbased Smart Tankers Incorporated with the beneficial owner tracked to Altomare, according to Lloyd’s List Intelligence. It is believed to be ultimately controlled by Dimitris Bakos and Capt Ioannis Kaimenakis families’ interests.
The company has been approached for comment. The insurer, West of England P&I Club, declined to comment.
Advantage Sweet remains in Bandar Abbas, with 23 Indian nationals and one Russian national aboard. The crew have made contact with the operator, Advantage Tankers LLC and said they are “safe and okay”, according to a spokesman.
Unlike the prior seized tanker, Niovi does not appear to be carrying any oil, as its last call was a drydock at Port Rashid, in Dubai. The AIS draft signal when contact was cut off on May 3 did not indicate that it had taken on any cargo since then.
“Things are changing fast in MENA, and the sudden escalation in seizures without the escalation in rhetoric is unusual,” said Kais Makhlouf, an analyst for Middle East and North Africa at Risk Intelligence.
Iran’s media has said little about the incident, referencing the statement issued by the US navy. Advantage Sweet was taken because it collided with a vessel and injured the Iranian crew, the country’s media previously reported.
“Tehran’s public and revolution prosecutor’s office said the tanker was seized because of a private compliant and a subsequent order by relevant judicial authorities,” said the Islamic Republic News Agency.
“Iran’s continued harassment of vessels and interference with navigational rights in regional waters are unwarranted, irresponsible and a present threat to maritime security and the global economy,” the US Navy said in reference to the Niovi incident.
Vessel-tracking shows that there are 37 tankers beneficially owned by Greek shipowners over 15,000 dwt within the Strait of Hormuz and the Middle East Gulf, Lloyd’s List Intelligence data show. There were 34 in the area 24 hours ago.
Lloyd's List Daily Briefing 04 May 2023