The New York Times reports that Iran’s Navy confirmed it had seized St. Nikolas, a Suezmax tanker loaded with crude oil, off the coast of Oman on Thursday, apparently in retaliation for the United States confiscating oil from the same ship last year.

The U.S. government diverted the same ship last April and confiscated its cargo, Iranian oil that was being transported in violation of American sanctions linked to Tehran’s nuclear program. The ship, then called the Suez Rajan, was later renamed the St. Nikolas.

“After the theft of Iranian oil by the United States last year, St Nikolas tanker was seized by Iran’s Navy this morning with a judicial order … it is en route to Iranian ports,” the semi-official Fars news agency reported, citing a statement by the Navy.

The US has called for the immediate release of the vessel and its crew, describing the seizure as the latest attempt by Iran to disrupt international commerce.  “We believe this kind of action will simply add uncertainty for commercial shipping and for regional and global economies,” said US State Department spokesman Vedant Patel.

A British government maritime agency said the ship was reportedly boarded by four or five armed people wearing uniforms and black masks. Iranian forces said the boarders arrived by helicopter and released a video that they said showed the men descending from a craft hovering above the ship’s deck.

Iranian state media quoted the army as saying the vessel is American, although it is Greek-owned.  The company that manages it, Empire Navigation, said it was loaded with 145,000 tonnes of crude oil and was carrying 18 Filipinos and one Greek citizen as crew.

The tanker which the Iranians have boarded today in the Gulf of Oman is the ST NIKOLAS (9524475); carrying Iraqi oil. Formerly known as the SUEZ RAJAN; she was seized by the US government for having transported a million barrels of Iranian oil in connection to a US company. pic.twitter.com/0eMLbtIjwO

— TankerTrackers.com, Inc. (@TankerTrackers) January 11, 2024

Thanks to David Rye for contributing to this post.