An oil tanker seized by Iran on Thursday was carrying Kuwaiti crude and had a crew of 24 Indians, according to the operator.
(Bloomberg) — An oil tanker seized by Iran on Thursday was carrying Kuwaiti crude and had a crew of 24 Indians, according to the operator.
The US has demanded the immediate release of the the Marshall Islands-flagged Advantage Sweet, which was travelling in international waters and near the Gulf of Oman when the incident happened, according to the US military.
The ship was heading to the US, a spokesperson for Advantage Tankers, the vessel’s Turkey-based operator, said to Bloomberg on Friday. It was carrying oil chartered by Chevron Corp., the spokesperson confirmed.
Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency said a Marshall Islands-flagged tanker collided with an Iranian vessel in the Persian Gulf, prompting Iran’s navy to seize the vessel and direct it to its coastal waters.
Advantage Tankers said it’s liaising with insurers and “all the appropriate authorities” to get the ship and crew released.
“The safety and welfare of our valued crew members is our number one priority,” it said on Thursday. “Similar experiences show that crew members of vessels taken under such circumstances are in no danger.”
–With assistance from Beril Akman.
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