A South Korean-flagged oil tanker seized by Iranian authorities in the Strait of Hormuz. (January 4, 2021)
Iranian state television has confirmed that Iranian authorities have seized a South Korean-flagged oil tanker in the Strait of Hormuz.
A report published on Monday (Jan. 4) said Iranian authorities seized the tanker, named MT Hankuk Chemi, on suspicion of causing “oil pollution” in the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz.
The semi-official Fars news agency said naval forces of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps have taken control of the ship.
Satellite images from the MarineTraffic website show the MT Hankuk Chemi in Bandar Abbas, Iran, on Jan. 4 for no apparent reason. The tanker had been traveling from Saudi Arabia to the United Arab Emirates port of Fujairah (United Arab Emirates).
It has not been possible to contact the owner of the vessel and obtain a comment on it.
The incident also comes as tensions continue to rise in the region and coincides unexpectedly with the first anniversary of last year’s U.S. drone strike. Last year today, IRGC Quds Force Major General Qasem Soleimani was killed by a U.S. drone strike in Baghdad.
After the attack, Iran retaliated by firing ballistic missiles that wounded dozens of U.S. troops stationed in Iraq. Tehran also admitted at the time to accidentally shooting down a Ukrainian airliner, killing all 176 people on board.
As the first anniversary of the attack approached, the U.S. sent multiple B-52 bombers over the area and a nuclear-powered submarine into the Persian Gulf.
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