(Express) – Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guards navy has seized a South Korean-flagged tanker for “polluting the Gulf with chemicals”, it has been confirmed. The South Korean foreign ministry announced the news after earlier reports by Iranian media outlets.
A spokesman said the ship had been seized in the waters off Oman and demanded its immediate release. South Korean forces stationed in the Strait of Hormuz have been dispatched to the area, the ministry added. The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) naval authority had said on its website that an “interaction” between Iranian authorities and a merchant’s vessel in the Strait of Hormuz led the ship to alter its course and proceed into Iranian waters.
British maritime security firm Ambrey identified the vessel as South Korean-flagged tanker HANKUK CHEMI and said it appeared to have been seized and had since been tracked inside Iranian territorial waters headed towards Bandar Abbas.
Ambrey said the vessel, owned by DM Shipping Co, had departed from the Petroleum Chemical Quay in Jubail in Saudi Arabia before the incident. Maritime security firm Dryad Global said on its website that chemical tanker HANKUK CHEMI has “likely been detained by Iranian forces” in the Strait of Hormuz while inbound to Fujairah in the United Arab Emirates. READ MORE
