The Iranian armed forces seized on Wednesday a Panamanian-flagged oil tanker that was transiting the Strait of Hormuz, confirmed the Panama Maritime Authority (AMP), which claimed to be unaware of the reasons for this action.
The AMP indicated that in its Segumar Technical Representative Office in Dubai, the Dubai Federal Maritime Authority informed about the possible seizure by the Navy of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps of Iran (IRGCN) of the Panamanian registration oil tanker NIOVI while passing through the Strait of Hormuz at approximately 6:20 am (0220 GMT) on Wednesday, May 3, 2023.
The Panamanian flag tanker NIOVI with IMO 99292498 owned by the company GRAND FINANCING CO and operated by SMART TANKERS INC. traveling from Dubai to the port of Fujairah in the United Arab Emirates was forced to change course into Iranian territorial waters by the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGCN) Navy.
They added that they are unaware of the reasons for the seizure “since there is no direct communication with the ship,” but they stressed that the General Directorate of Merchant Marine of the AMP and the operating company are monitoring the situation through the ship’s insurers and At the same time, work is being done on the appointment of a local representative (within Iranian territory) so that he can meet the needs of the ship and the 29 crew members of Filipino and Sri Lankan nationality.
This incident occurs after last Thursday, April 27, 2023, Iran seized another oil tanker, the Marshall Islands-registered MN Advantage Sweet in the Gulf of Oman.
