Iran Seizes Oil Tanker in Straits of Hormuz Signaling the Shipping War May Not Be Over
Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps naval units have hijacked an oil tanker in the Straits of Hormuz at 8:22 a.m. local time Friday. This is the first hijacking of a merchant ship by Iranian forces since IRGC units seized the container ship MSC Aries on April 13, 2024.
The victim of Iranian lawlessness was the Marshall Islands-flagged tanker Talara. As is so typical of merchant vessels, the Talara was sailing under a flag of convenience. It appears to be owned by a Cyprus-based holding company and operated by yet another Cypriot company. The owner, "Pasha Finance, Inc.," is alleged to be owned by the family of Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev.
The Talara had taken on a load of crude oil at Sharjah, United Arab Emirates, and was en route to Singapore. IRGC troops boarded Talara from three smaller ships that had shadowed it since it left port. The boarding took place approximately 25 miles off the coast of the UAE. A U.S. Navy MQ-4C Triton drone, a derivative of the RQ-4 Global Hawk, was seen circling the Talara as the situation unfolded. The hijacked ship has been taken into Iranian waters. At this point, no motive for the attack is known other than it being Friday and involving IRGC goons.
The United States has a "defense partnership" with the Marshall Islands under the Compact of Free Association (COFA), which includes cooperation on maritime security, defense, and training. That agreement does not extend to protecting Azerbaijani ships, operated and owned in Cyprus, and using a Marshall Islands flag of convenience.
Iran has a track record of targeting ships with Marshall Islands registry, either for piracy or for attack by their Houthi proxies.
BACKGROUND:
Iranians Claim They Had a 'Judicial Order' to Pirate a Ship in International Waters
Navy Hits More Houthi Targets As Joe Biden's Whack-A-Mole Strategy Continues
Houthis Hit a Tanker in Gulf of Aden but Enjoy the Great Plot Twist
If the past is prologue, Talara's crew will be released in a few weeks, but the ship is gone for good.
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