U.S. Navy: Iran Detains Second Oil Tanker in a Week in Gulf Waters

The Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps seized a Panama-flagged oil tanker as it crossed the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday, according to the U.S. Fifth Fleet. The tanker had departed from Dubai, heading to the port of Fujairah in the UAE, when it was intercepted by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard in the middle of the strait and forced to change course to head towards Iranian territorial waters. On May 3 at approximately 6:20 a.m. local time, the Panama-flagged oil tanker Niovi was seized by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy (IRGCN) while transiting the Strait of Hormuz. Later, a judicial official revealed that the Panama-flagged oil tanker was detained in the Gulf "by court order." It is noteworthy that Iran previously seized a Marshall Islands-flagged oil tanker in the Gulf of Oman while it was sailing in international waters.