Greek Owners of Oil Tanker Seized by the Islamic Republic: Crew is Safe

The Greek owners of an oil tanker seized by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps on Sunday stated that the crew of the tanker is safe. The 'Empire Navigation' company said in a statement that one of its associates contacted Iranian officials and reported that 'all crew members of the Saint Nicholas vessel are safe and sound.' The company added that it could not directly contact the 19-member crew. According to AFP, the crew consists of eighteen Filipinos and one Greek. Last Thursday, January 21, it was reported that the Saint Nicholas tanker was seized. The Saint Nicholas was sailing under the Marshall Islands flag and was anchored near Bandar Abbas. The United States condemned what it called the 'illegal seizure' of the tanker and urged the Iranian government to 'immediately release the ship and its crew.' John Kirby, the National Security Council's Strategic Communications Coordinator at the White House, said on Thursday, January 21, during a daily press conference: 'I’m sure you all have seen reports about the apparent seizure of a commercial vessel named Saint Nicholas flying the Marshall Islands flag by the Iranians. This ship, owned by Greeks, was operating on a lawful route in the waters of the Oman Sea.' This senior U.S. official emphasized: 'We condemn this apparent seizure. The Iranian government must immediately release the ship and its crew.' Iranian state media claimed that the Islamic Republic seized this ship in the waters of Oman on Thursday to take revenge on the U.S. for the 'theft' of Iranian oil from the same tanker last year. Last year, this tanker was named Suez Rajan. In September, the United States announced that several months earlier, it had seized the Suez Rajan ship and its cargo of 980,000 barrels of crude oil. The U.S. Department of Justice at that time stated that the oil from the Greek tanker had apparently been sold to China by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. The Islamic Republic has previously responded with retaliatory actions after the seizure of Iranian oil shipments. The seized Saint Nicholas vessel had loaded 145,000 tons of crude oil from Basra in Iraq and was supposed to go to Turkey via the Suez Canal, which, according to reports, was seized by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. The British maritime risk company 'Ambrey' announced this week that the Saint Nicholas tanker, which had recently changed its name, had previously been pursued and fined for carrying sanctioned Iranian oil, which U.S. officials had confiscated. The Islamic Republic claimed to have seized 'an American tanker'; the ship's operator stated it was carrying oil from Iraq to Turkey. The U.S. response to the seizure of the tanker: Iran should immediately release this ship 'owned by Greece' and its crew.