Empire Navigation Inc, the Greek shipowner of the oil tanker St Nikolas seized by Iran, said that it has sought help from the US government in regaining control of the St Nikolas in a US court filing on 11 January.
“While defendants hope to regain control over the vessel, their top priority is the safe return of its crew,” the lawyer of Empire Navigation Inc said in a filing to the US District Court for the District of Columbia Thursday. “The US government … is well aware of this situation, and defendants appreciate whatever assistance the US government can provide.”
On Thursday, Iran confirmed that its navy had seized the Marshall Islands-flagged oil tanker in the Oman Sea. The Iranian navy said that the operation was conducted on a court order with the approval of the Ports and Shipping Organization by Iran’s navy in retaliation for the theft of Iran’s oil by the US in April 2023.
White House national security spokesman John Kirby said in relation to Iran’s seizure of the ship on 11 January that there was “no justification whatsoever to seize it, none whatsoever. They need to let it go.”
The St Nikolas was sailing from the Iraqi port of Basra and en route to Turkiye. Reports say that the tanker was loaded with oil at the Iraqi port.
A British maritime risk management firm, Ambrey, described the operation, saying that “the individuals covered the vessel’s cameras” and that an officer “reported hearing unknown voices over the phone along with the master’s voice.”
“The armed suspects were reportedly wearing military-style black uniforms with black masks,” Ambrey added.
The St Nikolas, previously named the Suez Rajan, has been a point of tension between Tehran and Washington.
The US captured the tanker in April 2023, seizing one million barrels of Iranian crude oil in the process.
Washington and its allies have been seizing Iranian oil tankers since their withdrawal from the nuclear deal known as the JCPOA, and re-imposed sanctions on Iran in 2018.
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