Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps terrorists boarded the Greek-owned, Marshall Islands-flagged tanker “St. Nikolas” Thursday in the Sea of Oman. This action is linked to a US enforcement action against Iranian sanctions-busting operations in February 2023.
Around 3:30 a.m. local time, St. Nikolas reported unauthorized armed men boarding the ship some 50 nautical miles east of Sohar, Oman, and well short of the Bab el-Maneb strait that has seen so much action between Houthis and commercial maritime traffic. Communication was lost with the ship, and the ship changed course toward Iranian territorial waters. It is now confirmed that the ship is heading for the Iranian port of Bandar-e-Jask.
The St. Nikolas carried about 1 million barrels of Iraqi oil loaded at Basra and was enroute to Aliaga in western Turkey. The vessel is owned by Empire Navigation, a Greece-based shipping…
