06 July 2023; MEMO: Iranian judicial authorities have ordered that a foreign-flagged tanker that allegedly ran into an Iranian vessel in the Sea of Oman be impounded for violation of maritime rules, state media reported on Thursday, Anadolu Agency reports.
A Bahamas-flagged oil tanker, "Richmond Voyager", reportedly collided with an Iranian vessel in the Sea of Oman on Tuesday, causing injuries to the seven-member Iranian crew and flooding the vessel.
Iran's state media cited judicial authorities in the southern Hormozgan province as saying that the foreign vessel left the scene after the accident "in violation of international maritime rules and regulations".
The owner of the Iranian vessel thereafter contacted naval authorities and demanded the seizure of the Bahamas-flagged vessel through a judicial order, Iranian media reported, citing officials.
After that, a court order was issued and the Iranian Navy was asked to seize the vessel, which identified the vessel on Wednesday but it had entered the territorial waters of Oman.
The US Navy also issued a statement on the incident, saying it sent the guided-missile destroyer, USS McFaul, in response to a distress call from the Bahamas-flagged tanker off the coast of Oman.
The US Navy statement claimed that Iranian authorities had asked the foreign tanker to stop and fired shots at it.
A report on CNN on Wednesday said the US Navy "intervened to stop Iranian Navy ships attempting to seize two oil tankers in separate incidents in the Gulf of Oman," citing a US defence official.
In the first incident, it said, the Iranian Navy approached "TRF Moss", a Marshall Islands-flagged oil tanker, in international waters in the Gulf of Oman, followed by the "Richmond Voyager" a few hours later — both heading toward the Arabian Sea.
The incident comes less than two months after Iran's Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) seized a foreign tanker in the Strait of Hormuz, calling it a "violator".
Bahrain-based Fifth Fleet of the US Navy, in a statement at the time, said a Panama-flagged oil tanker was seized by the IRGC Navy "while transiting the Strait of Hormuz".
A week before that, the Iranian Navy had seized a Marshal Island-flagged "transgressor" tanker and directed it to the coastal waters of Iran in the Sea of Oman, following an encounter with an Iranian vessel.
In a statement at the time, the army said the tanker collided with an Iranian vessel in the Persian Gulf waters, injuring some Iranian crew members with at least two still missing.
These incidents come amid tensions between Iran and the US fuelled by a stalemate over talks to revive the 2015 nuclear deal as well as regional developments.
