Iran has seized the MT Niovi, a commercial oi tanker in the Strait of Hormuz, marking the second such incident in the region within a week, amid rising tensions with the United States. Approximately 12 members of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy (IRGCN) swarmed and bordered the Niovi via fast-attack craft. The IRGCN then forced the crew to turn the ship around and sail back into Iranian territorial waters. The Panama tanker was transiting from Dubai to Fujairah in the United Arab Emirates when it was captured.
Last week the Marshall Islands-flagged tanker MT Advantage Sweet was taken last week after leaving Kuwait en route to Houston. Iranian marines rappel onto the Advantage Sweet, in the Gulf of Oman amid wider tensions over Tehran’s nuclear program.
