Iran Seizes Oil Tanker Headed for Texas

Facts

• Iran's navy on Thursday seized a Marshall Islands-flagged oil tanker in international waters in the Gulf of Oman, according to the US Navy — the latest in a series of recent incidents in the conflict-prone Gulf waters.¹
• The US Navy identified the oil tanker as the Advantage Sweet and accused Tehran of violating international law, demanding the vessel's immediate release, which it said came from Kuwait and had given Houston, Texas as its destination.²
• Meanwhile, the Iranian army issued a statement Thursday saying the oil tanker was confiscated in the Gulf of Oman after it collided with an Iranian boat earlier, injuring several crew members.³
• The ship was chartered by US oil major Chevron and is owned by a Chinese-registered ship leasing company, according to the International Maritime Organization (IMO). About one-fifth of the world's oil trade passes through the waters near the Strait of Hormuz, which is bounded by Iran and Oman.⁴
• The Advantage Sweet, a 2012-built Suezmax oil tanker reportedly managed by a Turkish company, left Mina Saud in Kuwait on Tuesday carrying 750K barrels of Kuwaiti crude oil.⁵
• It's at least the fifth commercial vessel seized by Tehran in the past two years, the US Navy claims. In November, Iran released two Greek-flagged tankers it confiscated in the Persian Gulf in May, reportedly in response to the US seizure of a vessel carrying Iranian oil.⁶

Sources: ¹ABC News, ²NBC, ³Al Jazeera, ⁴Reuters, ⁵Lloyd's List, and ⁶DW.

Narratives

• Pro-establishment narrative, as provided by Fox News. The Iranian regime's seizure of yet another oil tanker while passing through international waters, reinforcing its blatant aggression in the region, is further evidence that Washington's policy of appeasement against Tehran has failed. This latest destabilizing incident should be a wake-up call for the US to finally resume seizing Iranian oil and gas shipments.
• Establishment-critical narrative, as provided by Tehran Times. In the incident, the oil tanker collided with an Iranian fishing boat, causing several Iranian crew members to go missing and become injured. Rather than assisting, as required by international maritime law, the tanker attempted to flee. What would the US do if the roles had been reversed? Washington's double standards are limitless.

Predictions