Twenty-three crew members were aboard the Stena Impero on the afternoon of July 19, 2019, when small craft and a helicopter closed in on the British-flagged tanker. Contact was lost. The ship turned north toward Iran. Iran’s Revolutionary Guard had taken it, and the semi-official Fars news agency said the reason was “violating international maritime rules.”
It was not a one-off. Here is what the record shows, from the sources that covered each incident.
July 2019: two ships in the Strait of Hormuz
Stena Bulk, the owner, said the vessel was in international waters when it was approached at around 4pm on the Friday. The 183-meter tanker had left the United Arab Emirates heading for Saudi Arabia’s port of Al Jubail. A second ship, the Mesdar, was operated by a Glasgow-based firm and sailed under the Liberian flag. Armed guards boarded it and forced it toward Iran, but it was later allowed to carry on. Its operator said the crew were safe. Britain said it was urgently seeking information, and the government’s emergency committee, Cobra, met to discuss the seizure.
Spring 2023: a second tanker in a week
Reuters reported on May 3, 2023 that Iran had seized an oil tanker in Gulf waters for the second time in a week, according to the U.S. Navy. The first had come on April 27, a tanker under the Marshall Islands flag taken off Oman and kept at Bandar Abbas. Reuters called the pair the newest entries in a run of seizures and attacks on merchant ships in the Gulf that has gone on since 2019.
Greece had seen the trouble coming. An advisory from its shipping ministry dated April 20 advised ships to keep out of Iranian jurisdiction around Hormuz and off Oman, citing “recent Iranian threats of possible retaliation against Greek shipping.” In recent weeks Washington had impounded Iranian crude carried by a tanker with a Greek manager. The security firm Ambrey said a surprisingly large group of Greek-flagged ships had left the Gulf. MarineTraffic data showed 107 tankers and 36 LNG carriers leaving Gulf countries near Iran from April 19 to 26, against 60 tankers and 26 carriers from April 27 to May 3.
July 2023: shots fired
Two months later, the U.S. Navy said Iran tried to capture two tankers in international waters near the strait, and that its response stopped both attempts. Fifth Fleet spokesman Timothy Hawkins said shots came from an Iranian navy vessel in the second attempt. Nobody was hurt and damage was not major. One tanker was Bahamas-flagged, Greek-owned and U.S.-managed, traveling from the UAE to Singapore, according to Ambrey. Both ships continued their voyages. Iran’s state news agency IRNA had made no comment at the time.
DW added that Washington blames Iran for taking five or more commercial ships over two years, and for harassing others. It tied the tension to Donald Trump’s withdrawal from the 2015 nuclear deal.
Why Hormuz matters
The strait is a tight passage separating Iran from Oman. Vortexa data put roughly 20% of global crude and oil products on that route.
Sources
- British tanker seized by Iran's Revolutionary Guard in the Strait of Hormuz (Daily Record)
- Greece Warned Shipowners Days Before Iran Seized Tankers (Reuters via MarineLink)
- US says it foiled Iran attempt to seize two oil tankers (DW)
