Hijacked Oil Tanker Headed Toward Iranian Waters

The Hijacked St Nikolas oil tanker has changed course toward Iranian waters, the UK Navy reported. The tanker was initially transporting Iraqi crude oil to Turkey, before Iranians boarded the vessel in the Gulf of Oman after which the Greek shipping company Empire Navigation has lost contact according to Bloomberg.

• Tanker Tracker first reported that Iranians have boarded the St Nikolas oil tanker today, which has been formerly known as Suez Rajan and had been seized by the US government for having transported 1mn barrels of Iranian oil in connection to a US company according to Tanker Trackers via X.
• The St. Nikolas is associated with the Greek shipping company Empire Navigation. In April last year, Washington seized the tanker after it was caught transferring oil off Singapore. Following the arrest, Empire Navigation entered into a deferred prosecution agreement with the US, pledging to transport some 800,000 barrels of illicit Iranian crude to the US for seizure and forfeiture. In September last year, Empire Navigation admitted to violating US sanctions by shipping a cargo of Iranian crude oil aboard the same ship according to Splash247.