Iranian forces seized a second oil tanker in less than a week, this time in the Strait of Hormuz. The Niovi was en route to the United Arab Emirates' Fujairah port. (U.S. Navy)
Iranian forces captured a foreign vessel on Wednesday, the second ship to be harassed and seized by the Middle Eastern country in a week, the U.S. Navy said.
The Niovi, a commercial oil tanker flying the Panama flag, was passing through the Strait of Hormuz between the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman when it was overtaken by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy (IRGCN).
This still image from video released by the U.S. Navy shows the Panama-flagged oil tanker Niovi surrounded by Iranian Revolutionary Guard vessels in the Strait of Hormuz Wednesday, May 3, 2023. Iran seized a Panama-flagged oil tanker in the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday, the second-such capture by Tehran in recent days, the U.S. Navy said.
Approximately 12 members of the IRGCN swarmed and bordered the Niovi via fast-attack craft. The IRGCN then forced the crew to turn the ship around and sail back into Iranian territorial waters.
The Panama oil tanker was transiting from Dubai to Fujairah in the United Arab Emirates when it was captured.
The empty Greek-owned, Panama-flagged VLCC supertanker NIOVI (9292498) has been seized this morning by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy (IRGCN). Further details are available with our clients, and we expect to see her in a few hours just north of this location.
