A second 'British' tanker near Iran has veered off course - after a first was seized in Iranian waters.

Owners of the first British tanker say they are unable to contact crew onboard.

It has now been reported that the second ship, the Mesdar Crude Oil Tanker, is also heading towards Iran.

The ship is operated by Norbulk Shipping UK Ltd.

It is unknown how many people were aboard the Mesdar ship.

The Ministry of Defence says it is urgently seeking information about the unfolding incident.

A meeting of the Government's emergency committee, Cobra, is believed to be underway.

Iranian state TV has said authorities seized the Stena Impero, Reuters reports.

According to reports in Iran, the Iranian Revolutionary Guard surrounded the tanker because it did "not following international maritime regulations".

The vessel was shown on tracking systems taking a sudden turn in the Gulf, having been headed to Saudi Arabia.

The company that owns the vessel said it was approached by "unidentified small crafts" and a helicopter in the Strait of Hormuz.

In a statement Northern Marine Management said: "We are presently unable to contact the vessel which is now heading north towards Iran.

"There are 23 seafarers aboard. There have been no reported injuries and their safety is of primary concern to both owners and managers."

The company said the tanker was in international waters when it was approached.

Its statement continues: "Northern Marine Management has not been able to establish contact directly with the vessel since it was notified of the incident at approximately 1600 Today, 19th July 2019.

"We are in close contact with UK government authorities."

The Stena Impero had left Fujairah in Dubai before being intercepted in the Strait of Hormuz.

A National Security Council statement said: “We are aware of reports that Iran seized a UK oil tanker. This is the second time in just over a week the UK has been targeted by [Iran].

"The US will continue to work with our allies to defend our security and interests against Iran’s malign behavior."

An MOD spokesman said: “We are urgently seeking further information and assessing the situation following reports of an incident in the Gulf.”

Relations between Iran and the West have been increasingly strained after Britain seized an Iranian tanker in Gibraltar on suspicion of smuggling oil to Syria in breach of European Union sanctions.

Iran said it would retaliate and days later three Iranian vessels tried to block a British-owned tanker passing through the Strait of Hormuz.

But on that occasion, the Iranian vessels backed off when confronted by a British Royal Navy warship.

Refinitiv data showed the Stena Impero is a British-flagged vessel owned by Stena Bulk and it had been en route to Jubail in Saudi Arabia.

Another map tracking the location of the Stena Impero showed it making a sharp turn in the Strait of Hormuz, at the southern entrance to the Gulf, and heading toward Iranian waters. </s> The British oil tanker Stena Impero is shown at an unknown location. (Stena Bulk via AP)

LONDON (AP/CNN) — Britain’s foreign secretary said Iranian authorities seized two vessels Friday in the Strait of Hormuz, actions signaling intensifying tensions in the strategic waterway that has become a flashpoint between Tehran and the West.

Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt said one of the seized ships, the tanker Stena Impero, was British-flagged and the other, the MV Mesdar, sailed under Liberia’s flag. Iran’s semi-official Fars news agency tweeted shortly after Hunt’s statement that the second tanker had left Iran’s territorial waters.

“These seizures are unacceptable,” Hunt said as he prepared to enter an emergency government meeting Friday night. “It is essential that freedom of navigation is maintained and that all ships can move safely and freely in the region.”

The seizing of the British tanker marked perhaps the most significant escalation since tensions between Iran and the West began rising in May. At that time, the U.S. announced it was dispatching an aircraft carrier and additional troops to the Persian Gulf, citing unspecified threats posed by Iran.

The ongoing showdown has caused jitters around the globe, amid fears that any misunderstanding or misstep by either side could lead to war.

Details of what took place Friday remained sketchy. Iran said earlier Friday that it had seized a British oil tanker in the Strait of Hormuz, which is at the mouth of the Persian Gulf and serves as the passageway for one-fifth of all global crude exports.

The tanker Stena Impero was taken to an Iranian port because it was not complying with “international maritime laws and regulations,” Iran’s Revolutionary Guard declared.

Britain’s Royal Marines assisted in the seizure of an Iranian oil supertanker on July 4 by Gibraltar, a British overseas territory off the southern coast of Spain.

Britain said it would release the vessel if Iran could prove it was not breaching European sanctions on oil shipments to Syria. The seized vessel was loaded with over 2 million barrels of Iranian crude oil.

A statement from Stena Bulk, which owns the tanker, said it was unable to contact the ship after it was approached by unidentified vessels and a helicopter in the Strait of Hormuz.

The company said the tanker, with 23 crew members aboard, was in international waters when it was approached but subsequently appeared to be heading toward Iran.

U.K. Chamber of Shipping chief executive Bob Sanguinetti said the seizure represented an escalation in tensions in the Persian Gulf and made it clear more protection for merchant vessels was urgently needed.

He claimed the action is “in violation of international regulations which protect ships and their crews as they go about their legitimate business in international waters.”

The British government should do “whatever is necessary” to ensure the safe and swift return of the ship’s crew, Sanguinetti said.

Crude oil prices climbed following Iran’s announcement as traders worried the escalating tensions could affect crude supplies. The price of oil was lower earlier in the day. U.S. stocks also fell as traders sold to avoid holding stocks into the weekend. The S&P 500 dropped 0.6% Friday after being up 0.4% in the morning.

The incident came just two days after Washington claimed that a U.S. warship downed an Iranian drone in the Strait. Iran denied that it lost an aircraft in the area.

President Donald Trump said U.S. officials would talk with Britain about the unfolding crisis.

“This only goes to show what I’m saying about Iran: Trouble, nothing but trouble,” he said.

Trump said “Iran is showing their colors” and “in big trouble right now” because its economy has been crippled by U.S. economic sanctions.

The U.S. has asked Mideast allies like Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates in past weeks to contribute financially and militarily to a Trump administration proposal called the Sentinel Program — a coalition of nations working with the U.S. to preserve maritime security in the Persian Gulf and keep eyes on Iran.

On June 20, Iran shot down an American drone in the same waterway, and Trump came close to retaliating but called off an airstrike at the last moment.

Tensions in the region have been escalating since the Trump administration withdrew from Iran’s 2015 nuclear deal with world powers and imposed sweeping sanctions on Iran, including its oil exports, that have hit its economy hard.

Iran’s government has desperately tried to get out of the chokehold, appealing to the other partners in the deal, particularly Europe, to pressure the U.S. to lift the bruising sanctions. Europe wants to maintain the nuclear deal, but has not been able to address Iranian demands, particularly concerning the sale of oil, without violating U.S. sanctions.

On Friday, Iran and the United States emphatically disagreed over Washington’s claim that a U.S. warship downed an Iranian drone in the Strait of Hormuz. American officials said they used electronic jamming to bring down the unmanned aircraft, while Iran said it simply didn’t happen.

Neither side provided evidence to prove its claim.

At the White House, Trump said flatly of the Iranian drone: “We shot it down.” But Pentagon and other officials have said repeatedly that the USS Boxer, a Navy ship in the Strait of Hormuz, actually jammed the drone’s signal, causing it to crash, and did not fire a missile. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive technology.

Trump’s national security adviser, John Bolton, said, “There is no question this was an Iranian drone, and the USS Boxer took it out as the president announced yesterday because it posed a threat to the ship and its crew. It’s entirely the right thing to do.”

In Tehran, the Iranian military said all its drones had returned safely to their bases and denied there was any confrontation with the USS Boxer, an amphibious assault ship.

“We have not lost any drone in the Strait of Hormuz nor anywhere else,” tweeted Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guard on its website Friday said the drone recorded three hours of video of the USS Boxer and five other vessels Thursday beginning when the ships first entered the Strait of Hormuz. There was no immediate explanation as to how the video was evidence that no Iranian drone was destroyed.

The Revolutionary Guard said its forces continue to monitor all movements by foreigners — especially “the terrorist forces” of the U.S. and the British in the Strait and the Gulf.

After Trump pulled the U.S. out of the Iran nuclear deal with world powers last year and imposed economic sanctions against Tehran, the Iranians have pushed back on the military front in recent weeks, with Washington accusing Tehran of threatening American forces and interests in the region.

Iran’s foreign minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif, suggested in New York as he arrived for a meeting at the United Nations that Iran could immediately ratify an agreement to allow broader checks of its nuclear facilities by U.N. inspectors if the U.S. dropped its sanctions.

China urged Washington to consider the offer, calling it “a positive signal that Iran is willing to seek a compromise solution.”

The Pentagon said Thursday’s incident happened in international waters while the Boxer was entering the Gulf. The Boxer is among several U.S. Navy ships in the area, including the USS Abraham Lincoln, an aircraft carrier that has been operating in the North Arabian Sea for weeks in response to rising tensions.

The Iranians and Americans have had close encounters in the Strait of Hormuz in the past, and it is not unprecedented for Iran to fly a drone near a U.S. warship.

Zarif blamed Washington for the escalation and accused the Trump administration of “trying to starve our people” and “deplete our treasury” through sanctions.

Jill Lawless in London and David Rising in Berlin contributed. </s> Iran seizes third foreign ship in less than a month

Iranian Revolutionary Guards seized a foreign oil tanker in the Gulf that was smuggling fuel and detained seven crewmen, Iran’s state media reported on Sunday, in a show of power amid heightened tension with the West.

The vessel was intercepted near Iran’s Farsi Island in the Gulf, Iran’s semi-official Fars news agency said.

The elite Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) has a navy base on Farsi island which is located north of the Strait of Hormuz.

Fars and Lebanon’s al-Mayadeen TV station reported that the tanker was seized on Wednesday.

“The IRGC’s naval forces have seized a foreign oil tanker in the Persian Gulf that was smuggling fuel for some Arab countries,” state television quoted the Guards commander Ramezan Zirahi as saying.

It was carrying 700,000 litres of fuel, he said, without elaborating on the nationalities of the detained crewmen and on which country or company owned the ship.

“The seizure of the oil tanker was in coordination with Iran’s judiciary authorities and based on their order,” Fars quoted him as he as saying. “It was taken to the Bushehr port, where its fuel was handed over to the authorities.”

Iran, which has some of the worlds cheapest fuel prices due to heavy state subsidies and the fall of its currency, has been fighting rampant fuel smuggling by land to neighbouring countries and by sea to Gulf Arab states.

A spokesman for the US Navy’s Bahrain-based Fifth Fleet said they had no information to confirm the media reports.

Another oil tanker, the Panama-flagged MT Riah, was captured by the elite force last month for “smuggling fuel to other countries”.

Tensions have risen between Iran and the West since last year when the United States pulled out of an international agreement which curbed the Islamic Republic’s nuclear program in return for an easing of economic sanctions on Iran.

Fuelling fears of a Middle East war with global repercussions, the Guards seized British tanker Stena Impero near the Strait of Hormuz in July for alleged marine violations, two weeks after British forces captured an Iranian oil tanker near Gibraltar accused of violating sanctions on Syria.

Describing the seizure of the Stena Impero in the Strait as illegal, Britain has rejected the idea that it could release the Iranian tanker in exchange for the British-flagged vessel.

Angered by intensified US sanctions designed to strangle its vital oil trade and the failure of Britain and European parties to the agreement to salvage the pact, Tehran has decreased its commitments to the nuclear deal.

Iran also has threatened to block all exports through the Strait, if countries heed US calls to stop buying Iranian oil. A fifth of global oil consumption passes through the Strait from Middle East crude producers to major markets.

After several attacks in May and June on oil tankers — blamed by Washington on Tehran, which denied responsibility — Trump has been trying to forge a military coalition to secure Gulf waters, though European allies have been loath to join for fear of provoking open conflict.

European parties to the deal — Britain, France and Germany — have instead appealed for diplomatic moves to defuse the crisis and have been trying to salvage the pact by exploring ways to shield Iran’s economy from US sanctions.

Tehran has called on them to accelerate their efforts or it will further decrease its commitments to the agreement.

Britain said on July 25 it had started sending a warship to accompany all British-flagged vessels through the Strait.

Iran has repeatedly said it will not allow any disturbance in shipping in the key oil transport waterway, claiming responsibility for the security of the Strait. In an apparent bid to calm tensions in the Gulf, Iran has called for improving relations with its regional rivals Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

Last month, Iran and the UAE revived maritime security talks in Tehran that had been off since 2013.

Iranian media reported on Sunday that Iranian and Qatari coast guards will meet to “improve maritime and border cooperation”. </s> Recent seizures and attacks aimed at oil tankers in the Strait of Hormuz will raise insurance rates for shipping companies and, if unchecked, reduce tanker traffic in the vital waterway, according to energy experts.

Britain's foreign secretary said Iranian authorities on Friday seized two ships, one flying under the British flag, the other registered in Liberia. The events occurred in a passageway that carries one-fifth of the world's crude exports.

"If this kind of problem continues, you might see people start to shy away from the (Persian) Gulf or try to reflag — not be a British tanker," said energy economist Michael Lynch.

The near-term impact will fall most heavily on the shipping industry in the form of higher insurance rates, said Lynch, president of Strategic Energy & Economic Research Inc.

Richard Nephew, a Columbia University researcher who wrote a book on sanctions, also believes the tanker seizures could create "a real risk premium" for companies that operate in the Gulf and insurers that underwrite them.

"Certainly we've seen concern with this in the past on sanctions grounds, and I would imagine security groups would be a far more complicating element," Nephew said.

On Friday, Iran's Revolutionary Guard said it took the British tanker Stena Impero to an Iranian port because it allegedly violated international shipping regulations. An Iranian news agency said the Liberian-flagged Mesdar was briefly detained and then released after being told to comply with environmental rules.

The seizures marked a sharp escalation of tension in the region that began rising when the Trump administration withdrew from a 2015 nuclear deal with Iran and imposed severe restrictions on Iranian oil exports and other sanctions.

Many of the 2,000 companies operating ships in the region have ordered their vessels to transit the Strait of Hormuz only during the daylight hours and at high speed. But only a handful of the companies have halted bookings.

The tensions in the Gulf also pushed oil prices slightly higher. Brent crude, the international standard, rose 0.9% to $62.47 a barrel on Friday, while benchmark U.S. crude gained 0.6% to settle at $55.63.

There's a long history of shippers enduring threats in the region.

"There have always been little problems around the Gulf where people will say, 'You're in our territorial waters,' but usually that doesn't go so far as the seizure of tankers," Lynch said.

Copyright 2019 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. </s> Iran seizes tanker carrying 'smuggled' fuel in the Gulf, state media says

Iran seizes tanker carrying 'smuggled' fuel in the Gulf, state media says

Iran has seized another foreign tanker in the Gulf, a state media agency has said.

The vessel, carrying 700,000 litres of "smuggled fuel" bound for Arab states, was intercepted near Farsi Island in the Gulf, Iran's semi-official Fars news agency said.

Lebanon's al-Mayadeen TV station reported that it was taken on Wednesday.

Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) commander Ramezan Zirahi, quoted by state television, said: "The IRGC's naval forces have seized a foreign oil tanker in the Persian Gulf that was smuggling fuel for some Arab countries."

Seven sailors of different nationalities were detained, he said.

"The seizure of the oil tanker was in coordination with Iran's judiciary authorities and based on their order," Fars quoted him as saying.

The reported seizure comes at a time of high tensions in the region, as Tehran struggles to cope with harsh economic sanctions imposed by the US.

The sanctions, which have severely restricted Iran's oil exports, were reimposed after Washington's unilateral withdrawal from a landmark 2015 nuclear deal.

That, in turn, prompted Tehran to announce it was relaxing its efforts to comply with the deal.

UK vessels have become involved in the tit-for-tat conflict, after British Royal Marines captured the Iranian oil tanker, Grace 1, near Gibraltar on 4 July.

They said they suspected the ship was taking oil to Syria in breach of EU sanctions, but Iran called it an act of "piracy".

The Iranian coastguard detained the Panama-flagged tanker MT Riah on 13 July, accusing it, as with the latest seizure, of smuggling fuel.

Less than a week later, Revolutionary Guard Corps seized the British-flagged Stena Impero in the Strait of Hormuz.

They accused the Swedish-owned oil tanker of allegedly violating international laws.

On Thursday, the UK's new foreign secretary, Dominic Raab, rejected the chance to swap the tankers.

The US has blamed Iran for two separate attacks using explosives which damaged oil tankers in the Gulf of Oman in May and June - an allegation Tehran has denied. </s> LONDON/DUBAI, July 19 (Reuters) - Iran's Revolutionary Guards said on Friday they had captured a British-flagged oil tanker in the Gulf after Britain seized an Iranian vessel earlier this month, further raising tensions along a vital international oil shipping route.

Britain said it was urgently seeking information about the Stena Impero after the tanker, which had been heading to a port in Saudi Arabia, suddenly changed course after passing throughthe Strait of Hormuz at the mouth of the Gulf.

The Revolutionary Guards said they seized the tanker at the request of Iranian maritime authorities for "not following international maritime regulations," state television reported.

Iran said it would retaliate and days later three Iranian vessels tried to block a British-owned tanker passing through the Strait of Hormuz. But on that occasion, the Iranian vessels backed off when confronted by a British Royal Navy warship.

"We are urgently seeking further information and assessing the situation following reports of an incident in the Gulf," a spokesman for Britain'sMinistry of Defence said on Friday.

A person familiar with the matter said a meeting of the British government's emergency committee was being held.

Refinitiv data showed the Stena Impero was a British-flagged vessel owned by Stena Bulk. It showed the vessel's destination as the Saudi port of Jubail on the Gulf.

The map tracking the ship's course showed it veering off course with a sharp turn north at about 1517 GMT on Friday and heading towards the Iranian coast. </s> (Hatha al-Youm | Iraq News )- The British-operated oil tanker Mesdar, which had turned in the direction of Iran, changed course again on Friday to head back into the Gulf, Refinitiv tracking data showed.Britain said the Mesdar and another tanker, the Stena Impero, had been seized by Iran, making the announcement after both suddenly took up a course towards the Iranian coast.But an Iranian news agency said the Mesdar had not been seized but had been issued a warning, while the Iranian military said it had captured the Stena Impero. </s> Iran says it has captured British oil tanker in Strait of Hormuz

Iran's Revolutionary Guard claims to have captured British oil tanker Stena Impero in the Strait of Hormuz, Iranian state television reports.

The IRGC seized the tanker at the request of the maritime authorities in the Iranian province of Hormozgan for "not following international maritime regulations," state television cited an IRGC statement as saying.

The tanker was taken to a coastal area and turned over to the authorities to take the necessary legal steps, state television said.

The operator of the Stena Impero said it was unable to contact the ship after it was approached by unidentified vessels and a helicopter in the Strait of Hormuz. The ship has 23 crew aboard.

"We are urgently seeking further information and assessing the situation following reports of an incident in the Gulf," a spokesman for Britain's Ministry of Defence said.

Further protection must be provided for merchant vessels, the head of the UK Chamber of Shipping said.

"We condemn unreservedly the capture of Stena Impero as she transited the Strait of Hormuz earlier today," the Chamber's chief executive, Bob Sanguinetti, said in a statement.

"This incident represents an escalation. Whilst we call for measured response, it is also clear that further protection for merchant vessels must be forthcoming to ensure enhanced security to guarantee free flow of trade in the region."

The incident came as Iran and the United States emphatically disagreed on Friday over Washington's claim that a US warship downed an Iranian drone near the Persian Gulf.

American officials said they used electronic jamming to bring down the unmanned aircraft, while Iran said it simply didn't happen.

The United States is aware of reports that Iran seized the tanker and it will work with its allies and partners to defend against Iran, a White House National Security Council spokesman said.

"We are aware of reports that Iranian forces seized a British oil tanker," spokesman Garrett Marquis said.

"The US will continue to work with our allies and partners to defend our security and interests against Iran's malign behavior," he added. 



More to come. </s> TEHRAN, Iran — Britain said Monday that it would join a U.S.-led naval security mission in the Strait of Hormuz, where Iran's seizure of merchant vessels has raised tensions with the West. Earlier, Iran's foreign minister lambasted recent U.S. financial sanctions against him, calling the move a "failure" for diplomacy.

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif told reporters in Tehran that "imposing sanctions against a foreign minister means failure" for any efforts at negotiations, and means the side imposing the measures is "opposing talks."

The U.S. administration last week announced sanctions on Zarif, a month after President Donald Trump had imposed similar sanctions on Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

The moves are seen as part of Washington's escalating campaign in what Trump calls "maximum pressure" on the Islamic Republic.

The U.S. has increasingly deployed military reinforcements to the region amid unspecified threats from Iran in the wake of Trump's withdrawal last year from the 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and world powers.

Britain's Ministry of Defense said it "will draw largely on assets already in the region." It said the Royal Navy will work alongside the U.S. Navy to escort vessels through the Strait of Hormuz, which sits at the mouth of the Persian Gulf, a shipping channel for one-fifth of all global crude exports.

Two Royal Navy warships are currently in the region, the frigate HMS Montrose and the destroyer HMS Duncan. The Montrose is due to leave for planned repairs later this month.

Britain has been giving U.K.-flagged vessels in the region a naval escort since the Iran's Revolutionary Guards seized a British-flagged oil tanker last month. Some Iranian officials suggested the seizure of the Stena Impero was retaliation for the seizure of an Iranian oil tanker off the British overseas territory of Gibraltar.

European nations have been reluctant to take part in the U.S. naval mission, and Germany has said it will not be involved.

Last month, then-U.K. Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt announced that the U.K. would join with European allies to form a "maritime protection mission" in the strait.

Hunt has since lost his job, and that effort appears to have foundered. Britain's Ministry of Defense said the U.S. and the U.K. hoped other countries will join the new mission.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson's spokesman, James Slack, said Britain was still seeking an international coalition, though he did not say who would be in it.

Zarif had stressed Monday that Washington's policy of "talking about war as an option that remains on the table cannot stand."

Zarif's press conference came a day after Iran announced its forces had seized a foreign ship in the Persian Gulf suspected of carrying smuggled fuel, but provided no details on the vessel or the nationality of the crew. It was the Revolutionary Guard's third seizure of a vessel in recent weeks and the latest show of strength by the paramilitary force amid the spike in tensions.

Six oil tankers have also been targeted in the Gulf of Oman in unclaimed acts of sabotage that the U.S. blames on Iran. Iran has denied any involvement in those attacks.

In June, Iran shot down an American surveillance drone in the Strait of Hormuz. Trump came close to retaliating, but called off an airstrike at the last moment.

Maritime security in the region was further jolted in mid-July, when the Revolutionary Guard's naval forces confirmed they had seized a United Arab Emirates-based oil tanker, the Panamanian-flagged MT Riah, for allegedly smuggling fuel from Iranian smugglers to foreign customers.

Britain and other European nations have distanced themselves from the American "maximum pressure" strategy. Unlike the U.S., European countries still adhere to the international nuclear deal.

Iran recently began surpassing uranium enrichment limits set in the 2015 deal, but says these moves can be reversed if given enough economic incentives to offset U.S. sanctions.

Referring to the seizure of the British tanker, Zarif said Monday that it was not a reciprocal action for Gibraltar. He also told reporters he had received an invitation from Washington for a meeting during his New York trip in July, along with a warning about the sanctions.

U.S. officials have not confirmed either of Zarif's claims — neither the one about him being warned about the sanctions nor the one about the alleged invitation for talks.
Iranian Navy of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps captures British tanker Stena Impero and temporarily seizes British-operated and Liberian-flagged tanker Mesdar in the Persian Gulf. British Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt says there will be "serious consequences" if Iran does not release the tanker.