The Greek-owned tanker St. Nikolas, sailing under a Marshall Islands flag, that had been seized after a court order by an Iranian group of five gunmen off the coast of Oman on Thursday has anchored at the port of Bandar Abbas in Iran, sources said on Friday.
The Greek foreign ministry is in charge of ensuring the safety and repatriation of a Greek national that is part of the tanker’s crew.
Early on Thursday, it was reported that pirates attacked the Greek-owned tanker ST NIKOLAS off Oman. The vessel belongs, according to the Equasis shipping data platform, to Empire Navigation.
The Shipping Ministry said that there is one Greek, a trainee captain, among the crew of the tanker.
Later, it was reported, according to the Iranian news agencies IRNA and TASNIM, that the Navy of the Islamic Republic of Iran seized the tanker, following the issuance of a court order.
According to shipowner Empire Navigation’s latest announcement, the safety of the 19-member crew (18 Filipinos and one Greek) of the St. Nikolas remains the top priority.
It also said that it has immediately informed the competent authorities and is in constant contact with them, as well as with the crew members’ families.
It is noted that the tanker left a few days ago from Basra (Iraq) loaded with roughly 145,000 of crude oil bound for Aliaga (Turkey) via the Suez Canal. The vessel’s charterer was Tupras.
