US, UK weigh response as 2 oil tankers deviate route near Iranian waters

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — Two oil tankers in the Strait of Hormuz were seized by Iran on Friday, the Liberian-flagged MV Mesdar and the British-flagged Stena Impero. British officials are holding emergency meetings, as President Donald Trump from the White House reinforced the United States has a “very close alliance” with the United Kingdom.

 

Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) announced through its Tasnim news agency that it had seized the Stena Impero for "violating international maritime rules and regulations." Tasnim later reported that the second tanker, with the Liberian flag was not seized.

 

The action followed a request by the Zone 1 of the Navy by the Ports and Maritime Organization of Hormozgan Province, the Iranian Students News Agency (ISNA) later reported.

 

The Stena Impero is 183 meters long and 32 meters wide, according to ship tracker Marine Traffic. It is an oil and chemical tanker that was built in 2018. Its owner Stena Bulk released a statement saying there are 23 seafarers aboard.

 

"There have been no reported injuries and their safety is of primary concern to both owners and managers," it stated.

 

Stena Bulk confirmed that the ship "was approached by unidentified small crafts and a helicopter during transit of the Strait of Hormuz while the vessel was in international waters. We are presently unable to contact the vessel which is now heading north towards Iran."

 

It's planned route was from the Port of Fujairah in the United Arab Emirates to Al Jubail in Saudi Arabia. However around 7 p.m., Marine Traffic reported that its heading was pointed toward Iranian waters near Qeshm Island off of Hormozgan province. Its engines were still operating, according to the ship-tracking website.

 

"We are urgently seeking further information and assessing the situation following reports of an incident in the Gulf," a spokesperson from the British defence ministry said on Friday, according to Reuters. 

 

The United Kingdom is planning to hold a Cabinet Office Briefing Rooms (COBR) to coordinate a governmental response between relevant offices, a Whitehall source told the Telegraph. 

 

"It does look like it has been hijacked. Ships don't follow that pattern. It turned right and straight into Iranian waters," the unnamed source added. "It is really concerning that this has happened.

 

"It looks on the face of it as though the Iranian Revolutionary Guard have boarded and taken a UK-flagged ship. It appears to be linked to events around the Grace 1 tanker."

 

ICYMI: Iran denies US destroyed drone over Strait of Hormuz 

 

Two US officials also told CNN on Friday that the MV Mesdar was also seized by Iran. They cited unspecified maritime intelligence reports. 

 

“We have a very close alliance with the United Kingdom. We always have," US President Donald Trump told reporters at the White House on Friday.

 

It was not immediately clear which ship is suspected of being seized first.

 

"We’ll talk to the UK," he said. "We heard about it. We heard it was one. [Then] we heard it was two,” he added.

 

Trump's administration since withdrawing from the nuclear deal last year has re-imposed sanctions targeting Iran's economy, in particular its energy and trade sectors. He repeatedly says he is open to negotiations with Iran; however, Tehran says they do not trust the team currently in Washington, D.C.

 

"This only goes to show what I'm saying about Iran. Trouble. Nothing but trouble," he said. "It goes to show you I was right about Iran."

 

In the past two months, Trump has ordered his generals to move 10,000 additional forces to various places in the Middle East. Ships, planes, Marines, and other assets have been deployed.

 

"We have a lot of ships there that are warships," he said.

 

Earlier in the day, Trump said there was "no doubt" that the US military had downed an Iranian drone near the strait that is strategically important to around 30 percent of the world's oil trade.

 

Iran's Supreme Leader previously has threatened action against Britain for detaining the Panama-flagged Grace 1 supertanker. It has been anchored just outside the Strait of Gibraltar in coordination with local authorities since July 4.

 

The ship is alleged to be carrying around 2 million barrels of Iranian oil and bound for Syria, a breach of EU sanctions. The Supreme Court of Gibraltar ruled on Friday that the ship can be detained for 30 more days.

 

“At a private meeting of the Supreme Court on an application by the Attorney General, the Court has extended the period of detention of the vessel, Grace 1, for a further 30 days and has set a new hearing for 15 August 2019,” the Gibraltar government said on Friday.

 

"We look forward to continuing to work constructively and positively with officials of the Islamic Republic of Iran to facilitate the release of the Grace 1 pursuant to the satisfaction of all legal requirements," Gibraltar's Chief Minister Fabian Picardo told the parliament.

 

Gibraltar authorities can renew the order for 30 days. Iran has repeatedly called the Western actions "piracy."

 

As tensions for Tehran with the United States and United Kingdom rise, Iran would like other cosigners to play a larger role in salvaging the nuclear deal, like the European Union, France,  Germany, Russia, and China.

 

Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke with French counterpart Emmanuel Macron by telephone on Thursday. They touched on the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), commonly called the Iran nuclear deal.

 

“Both parties stressed that JCPOA was an important factor which promotes security in the Middle East as well as upholds the nuclear non-proliferation regime,” a Kremlin statement read. 

 

An Elysee Palace statement detailed that Macron reminded Putin both countries, as permanent members of the UN Security Council, have a role to play in helping to resolve international issues.

 

On Iran, the president of the Republic [of France] insisted on the shared responsibility of the Europeans, Russia and China to preserve the 2015 nuclear agreement (JCPoA), to call on Tehran to fully respect its obligations, and to preserve the economic benefits of JCPoA,” it read.

 

Macron added that Moscow and Paris have agreed to “strengthen their exchanges” over the next few weeks on security agendas, and “major international and regional crises.”

Translation by Fazel Hawramy