The vessel's owners Stena Bulk confirmed the vessel was approached by unidentified small naval craft and helicopter in international waters in the Straits of Hormuz at 1600 hrs BST on Friday suddenly and deviated from its course heading towards Iran. The company said it had lost contact with the built 2018, 49,683 dwt tanker with 23 crew on board.
Iran's Fars News Agency reported that the vessel had been boarded and seized by Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) naval forces for disregarding international maritime rules and regulations in the Strait. The seizure of the British-flagged tanker is seen as retaliation for the seizure by Gibralter two weeks earlier of the Iranian-flagged tanker Grace 1 for alleged sanctions busting with Syria.
UK Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt stated: "The Stena Impero was seized in Omani waters in clear contravention of international law. It was then forced to sail into Iran. This is totally and utterly unacceptable."
A second tanker, the UK-owned, Liberian-flagged Mesdar was also boarded by the IRGC on Friday in the Straits of Hormuz but later returned to the Traffic Separation Scheme with the Iran reportedly saying they warned it on maritime and environmental regulations.
Erik Hanell, President and Chief Executive, Stena Bulk, said: “There are 23 seafarers onboard of Indian, Russian, Latvian and Filipino nationality. There have been no reported injuries and the safety and welfare of our crew remains our primary focus. We are in close contact with both the UK and Swedish government authorities to resolve this situation and we are liaising closely with our seafarers’ families.”
The seizure of the Stena Impero in international waters of key waterway has sparked concern from the shipping industry.
Guy Platten, secretary general of the International Chamber of Shipping said: “We are extremely concerned about this latest development in the Strait of Hormuz, particularly in respect of the safety of seafarers. We call on all authorities to work together to seek a swift and transparent resolution to the situation and to ensure that crews are kept safe.
"Freedom of navigation is vital for global trade and we encourage all nations to uphold this fundamental principle of maritime law. In the 21st century it is not acceptable for seafarers and ships to become pawns in any way, they must be allowed to operate in safety. We will be reviewing the situation and remain in contact with relevant authorities.”
Seafarers’ charity, Stella Maris (Apostleship of the Sea) warned on the impact on crew sailing on vessels in the region. John Green, director of development for the charity said, “one minute the crew on board were going about their professional duties and the next they will be undergoing huge pressure, not knowing what will happen next, one can only think of their wives and children at home and the worry they will be facing.”
Maritime Security consultants Dryad Global believes that the seizure of the Stena Impero does not increase risk posed for international shipping in the Straits of Hormuz apart from British-flagged or owned ships.
Whilst this incident appears to be a dramatic escalation of events within the Persian Gulf, it is essential that these incidents are viewed within the context of wider events. Currently Dryad assess these latest incidents to be further evolution of a localised issue between Iran and the UK, and as such there is deemed to be no additional increase in the risk profile to wider international shipping beyond UK interest vessels,” Dryad said.
Last month two tankers, the Front Altair and Kokuka Courageous were attacked in the Gulf of Oman, the US blamed the attacks on Iran saying it had attached limpet mines to the vessels. Iran denied it carried out the attacks.
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