British-registered oil tanker causes a security scare in the Persian Gulf by ‘going dead in the water’ 40 miles from Iran after Tehran’s threat to seize a UK vessel – but it was just a routine delay
- British-registered supertanker Pacific Voyager drifted in the Persian Gulf today
- It stopped its engines just south of Iranian territorial waters around 6am UK time
- The vessel is en route to Saudi Arabia to collect a load of crude oil for delivery
- Tehran threatened to seize a UK tanker after an Iranian vessel was seized
A British-registered super tanker which started drifting off the coast of Iran provoked a scare this morning amid fears Tehran had boarded the 1,092-foot vessel.
The Pacific Voyager tanker was en-route from Singapore to Ras Tanura, Saudi Arabia, when it slowed down and stopped around 6am today.
Iranian sources denied that they had boarded the boat.
The Pacific Voyager super tanker came to a halt shortly after 6am just south of Iranian territorial waters in the Persian Gulf. The 1,000ft vessel was en route between Singapore and Ras Tanura in Saudi Arabia. Officials at United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations said the vessel stopped to adjust its arrival time in Saudi Arabia
Tehran has threatened to seize a British oil tanker after Royal Marine Commandos boarded the Iranian owned Grace 1, pictured this week off the coast of Gibraltar
Royal Marine Commandos boarded the Grace 1 in the early hours of July 4
Earlier this week, Royal Marines Commandos boarded the Panamanian-flagged Grace 1 as it passed by Gibraltar. The supertanker, which is owned by Iran, is suspected of smuggling oil to Syria in breach of EU sanctions.
Mohsen Rezaee, secretary of Iran’s Expediency Discernment Council and commander in the Revolutionary Guards, said it was Iran’s ‘duty’ to retaliate after Royal Marines and Gibraltar police intercepted the Grace 1 tanker on Thursday.
Rezaee, who led the IRGC during the 1984 ‘Tanker War’ when Iraq bombed Iranian tankers in the Gulf, tweeted: ‘The Islamic Revolution was never an initiator of tension during its 40-year-old history, however, it has not hesitated to respond to bullies.
‘If UK doesn’t return the Iranian tanker, the duty of responsible [Iranian] bodies is to seize a British oil tanker in a retaliatory measure.’
Mohsen Rezaee, secretary of Iran’s Expediency Discernment Council and commander in the Revolutionary Guards, said it was Iran’s ‘duty’ to retaliate after Royal Marines and Gibraltar police intercepted the Grace 1 tanker on Thursday
The Pacific Voyager, whose home port is Douglas on the Isle of Man, passed through the 22-mile wide Straight of Hormuz last night and into Iranian territorial waters.
Around 6am the tanker appeared to veer off course as it slowed to a stop and began drifting south in the Persian Gulf.
However, a United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations official – said the vessel was ‘safe and well’ and had been in direct contact with the UKMTO.
The UKMTO coordinates shipping in the Gulf.
The official said the tanker had stopped to ‘adjust its arrival time at the next port’.
It resumed course around noon.
Iran had dismissed as ‘fabricated’ reports that the ship had been seized by its Revolutionary Guard forces.
On Saturday an Iranian cleric said Britain should be ‘scared’ about Tehran’s possible retaliation for the seizure of the Grace 1, the Fars semi-official news agency reported.
‘I am openly saying that Britain should be scared of Iran’s retaliatory measures over the illegal seizure of the Iranian oil tanker,’ said Mohammad Ali Mousavi Jazayeri, a member of the Assembly of Experts clerical body.
Tensions are high in the Gulf following last month’s attacks on vessels near the Strait of Hormuz, a vital oil shipping route, and Iran’s downing of a US drone. Washington and Saudi Arabia have directly blamed Iran for the attacks on tankers, something Tehran denies.
The attacks have raised fears of a broader confrontation in the region where the United States has boosted its military presence over perceived Iranian threats