DUBAI (Reuters) – Iran said it had obtained a court order for the seizure of the oil tanker Richmond Voyager after it collided with an Iranian vessel in the Gulf of Oman, according to the official IRINN news agency.
The US Navy said it intervened to prevent Iran from seizing two commercial tankers in the Gulf of Oman on Wednesday.
According to an announcement quoted by IRINN from the Maritime Search and Rescue Center in Hormozgan Province, Iran, a Bahamian-flagged tanker named Richmond Voyager collided with an Iranian vessel carrying seven crew members, seriously injuring five persons.
About a fifth of the world’s supply of crude oil and petroleum products transported by sea passes through the Strait of Hormuz, a choke point between Iran and Oman, according to data from analyst firm Vortexa.
(Reporting by Dubai Newsroom; Editing by Tom Hogue)