Documents and sources indicate that Greece issued several warnings to ship owners, urging them to avoid sailing near Iranian waters days before Tehran seized two tankers amid escalating tensions in the region. Greece is home to many of the world's major shipowners, managers, and maritime services industry.
The Greek Ministry of Maritime Transport issued a warning on April 20 stating, "Due to recent Iranian threats of potential retaliatory actions targeting Greek shipping, we strongly recommend that navigation in the aforementioned area, as well as in the Strait of Hormuz and the Gulf of Oman, stay out of waters under Iranian jurisdiction whenever possible, while exercising extreme caution when sailing near the mentioned areas."
An industry source stated that shipping companies were advised to depart the area close to Iran. Separately, a Greek shipping industry official familiar with the matter told Reuters, "Greece issued two unofficial warnings to sailors in the area a few weeks ago."
Data from the analytics company MarineTraffic revealed that the number of tankers leaving Gulf states near Iran reached 107 vessels and 36 LNG carriers from April 19 to April 26, compared to 60 oil tankers and 26 LNG carriers from April 27 to May 3.
According to analytics firm Vortexa, approximately one-fifth of the world's crude oil and petroleum products pass through the Strait of Hormuz between Iran and Oman. Washington recently seized a shipment of Iranian oil aboard a tanker operated by a Greek company.
