Armed men in military uniforms and black masks boarded an oil tanker near Oman, according to a British maritime security firm and the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations authority. Four or five men boarded the Marshall Islands-flagged St Nikolas at about 7:30am on Thursday. The ship was 50 nautical miles east of Sohar in Oman and then headed towards Bandar-e-Jask in Iran.
The vessel has been identified as carrying Iraqi oil and the tanker previously went by the name Suez Rajan and had been seized by the US government in the past for transporting sanctioned Iranian oil. According to the maritime security firm, Ambrey, the men covered surveillance cameras as they boarded the vessel. As the tanker appeared to veer towards Bandar-e-Jask, it’s tracker was turned off. According to a tracking website, the St Nikolas was sailing from the Iraqi port of Basra to Turkey. The Greek shipping company Empire Navigation, which operates the vessel, acknowledged losing contact with the St Nikolas. It said a crew of 18 Filipinos and one Greek national were on board. The company also said the vessel was carrying 145,000 tons of oil from Basra to Aliaga in Turkey.
Read More: Oil tanker in Gulf of Oman boarded by masked men in military uniforms
