That’s Stena Impero. Is it confirmed that two vessels have been seized?
Well, considering she went off AIS 2.5 hrs ago and doesn’t seem to be heading for her AIS destination of Al Jubail… draw your own conclusions.
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50,000 DWT brand new, not a spit kit this time.
Three now… add M/T Mesdar to the list. Also U.K. owned.
https://news.yahoo.com/iran-captures-second-uk-linked-194200677.html
The Iranian Revolutionary Guard arrested a British oil tanker in the Strait of Hormuz on Friday. Tehran says the ship, the Stena Impero, did not comply with international regulations. It is not clear which agreements are meant by this.
A second ship, the British-owned oil tanker Mesdar, was bound for Saudi Arabia Friday when it sharply veered course north towards Iran. A US official told CNN that the Mesdar also had been seized by Iran.
We are climbing the escalation ladder and if this goes on we know where it will end…
The second tanker, the Mesdar is Liberian registered, but managed by a UK company called Norbulk Shipping, with management offices located in Glasgow and Riga as well as satellite offices in Manila, St. John NB, St. Petersburg and Kaliningrad:
https://www.norbulkshipping.com/who-we-are
The actual owners may be more difficult to track down, but the name of the vessel is of Arabic origin.
Why they are targeting tankers in bound through the Hormus, aside from being British flagged, is a bit harder to explain. Are the no loaded British flag ships leaving the Gulf?
It appears that the Masdar has been allowed to continued on it’s way to Saudi Arabia after having been “given a warning to comply with environmental regulations” (MARPOL presumably?):
Say again… I can’t hear you over all this saber rattling!! This is fast approaching a point of no return
If you are a religious man, PRAY!!!
[Prays for MARAD to give me a command at MARAD pay rates and a hull that’s maybe younger than me]
Trust me, I’m praying! Show me the money MARAD!
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