Armed raid on the ship off the coast of Oman: It was bringing oil to Izmir

British maritime security firm Ambrey and the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) announced that communication with the ship Saint Nicholas, owned by Empire Navigation, the operator of the Greece-based oil tanker, was lost approximately 50 nautical miles off the coast of Oman.

UKMTO announced that they received a report that four to five armed people had boarded, and shared the information that the armed people were wearing military-type black uniforms and black masks.

UKMTO stated that after the armed men boarded, the ship changed direction towards Iranian territorial waters and communication with the ship was lost.

According to the news in Reuters, Ambrey stated that he had previously been fined for carrying “sanctioned” Iranian oil, and then the tanker was seized by the USA. Ambrey stated that the Marshall Islands-flagged crude oil tanker was heading towards Iran’s Cask port city.

HE WAS BRINGING OIL TO IZMIR

According to London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) data, the ship, which received cargo from Iraq’s Basra port, was heading to Izmir’s Aliağa port.

In the news in Reuters, it was stated that the oil tanker had 19 crew members and was bringing oil from Iraq to Izmir.

“THERE IS NO TURKISH CREW ON THE SHIP”

Regarding the issue, Tüpraş made a statement: “There is no Turkish crew on the ship, and the issue is being followed up in cooperation with national and international authorities.”

Tüpraş’s full statement is as follows:

“Communication with the Marshall Islands-flagged ship named St. Nikolas, owned by the Greek shipowner Empire Navigation, was interrupted off the coast of Oman at around 06:30 on January 11, 2024. The ship in question was the ship we purchased from the Iraqi state oil company SOMO and was transported from Basra Port. It carries approximately 140 thousand tons of crude oil, which is on its way to be delivered to our refinery. All our refinery operations continue as planned and the incident has no impact on our refinery operations.

“There is no Turkish crew on the ship, and the issue is being followed in cooperation with national and international authorities.”