VIDEO: Iranian Navy releases video of Advantage Sweet seizure

Iranian Navy footage shows masked commandos descending on deck of tanker [Screen grab from YouTube]

Iranian Navy footage has appeared on YouTube showing yesterday’s seizure of the Marshall Islands flagged tanker Advantage Sweet while transiting international waters in the Gulf of Oman.

While Iranian state-controlled media outlets say that the tanker was detained “after it collided with an Iranian boat and attempted to flee the scene,” there has as yet been so substantiation of this of this and speculation is that the ship may be being held as a bargaining chip.

Meantime, a few more details of the vessel are emerging. While the Equasis data base shows the 2012-built, 159,058 dwt crude oil tanker as being operated by Istanbul-headquartered Genel Denizcilik Nakliyati AS, it appears on the fleet list of Advantage Tankers which describes itself as a holding company for 18 single-purpose vessel owing entities.

The Washington Post reports Advantage Tankers as saying that all Advantage Sweet’s 24 crew members are Indians and that the ship was “being escorted by the Iranian navy to a port on the basis of an international dispute.”

“The safety and welfare of our valued crew members is our No. 1 priority,” the firm said. “Similar experiences show that crew members of vessels taken under such circumstances are in no danger.”

According to the IMO data base, the seized tanker’s actual owner is Chinese ship leasing company SPDB Financial Leasing.

Reuters reported Refinitiv ship tracking data as showing that the vessel was bound for Houston under charter to Chevron and quoted a Chevron spokesperson as saying the company a “in contact with the vessel operator with the hope of resolving this situation as soon as possible.”