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Iran Releases Oil Carried by Tanker It Seized Earlier This Year

The St. Nikolas oil tanker that Iran seized earlier this year. (file/Reuters)
The St. Nikolas oil tanker that Iran seized earlier this year. (file/Reuters)
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Iran Releases Oil Carried by Tanker It Seized Earlier This Year

The St. Nikolas oil tanker that Iran seized earlier this year. (file/Reuters)
The St. Nikolas oil tanker that Iran seized earlier this year. (file/Reuters)

Iran has released the oil cargo of a Greek-owned, Marshall-Islands-flagged tanker it seized in the Gulf of Oman earlier this year, a shipping source told Reuters on Thursday.

Iran seized the St. Nikolas in January in retaliation for the confiscation last year of the same vessel and its oil by the US, Iranian state media had reported at the time.

The vessel, M/T St. Nikolas, is still being held by Iran, the source added. It was laden with 1 million barrels of Iraqi crude oil destined for Türkiye when it was seized.

“The cargo was released earlier this week after negotiations,” the source said.

In August 2023, a cargo of Iranian oil carrying one million barrels was unloaded off the coast of Texas from the Suez Rajan, a Marshall Islands-flagged tanker seized by the US.

There was no immediate comment from both the Iranian foreign and oil ministries.

The release of the oil cargo on Thursday came few days after Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) intercepted a Togo-flagged, UAE-managed products tanker carrying 1,500 tons of marine gas oil.

British security firm Ambrey said last Monday the vessel had loaded marine gas oil off the coast of Iraq and was destined for UAE's Sharjah when it was intercepted on Sunday, 61 nautical miles southwest of Iran's port of Bushehr.

Iran's Revolutionary Guards' Navy confirmed seizure in a statement quoted by Iran's state news agency, saying: “The tanker was systematically engaged in fuel smuggling ... and was seized in the depths of Bushehr's coast by judicial order.”

“The vessel, along with its 12 crew members of Indian and Sri Lankan nationals, has been transferred to Bushehr anchorage and is under supervision,” it added.

Earlier this month, ship tracking data from the London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) showed that a Chevron-chartered oil tanker seized by Iran more than a year ago is heading toward the Sohar port in Oman.

The data showed the vessel moving to international waters, with the destination showing as Khor Fakkan in the UAE.

The Marshall Islands-flagged Advantage Sweet was boarded by IRGC in the Gulf of Oman in April 2023 after an alleged collision with an Iranian boat.

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Typhoon Gaemi Lashes Southeast China After Pounding Taiwan, Flooding Philippines 

In this photo released by Xinhua News Agency, huge waves lash the shore ahead of landfall by Typhoon Gaemi in Sansha Township of Xiapu County, southeast China's Fujian Province, Thursday July 25, 2024. (Xinhua via AP)
In this photo released by Xinhua News Agency, huge waves lash the shore ahead of landfall by Typhoon Gaemi in Sansha Township of Xiapu County, southeast China's Fujian Province, Thursday July 25, 2024. (Xinhua via AP)
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Typhoon Gaemi Lashes Southeast China After Pounding Taiwan, Flooding Philippines 

In this photo released by Xinhua News Agency, huge waves lash the shore ahead of landfall by Typhoon Gaemi in Sansha Township of Xiapu County, southeast China's Fujian Province, Thursday July 25, 2024. (Xinhua via AP)
In this photo released by Xinhua News Agency, huge waves lash the shore ahead of landfall by Typhoon Gaemi in Sansha Township of Xiapu County, southeast China's Fujian Province, Thursday July 25, 2024. (Xinhua via AP)

Typhoon Gaemi lashed towns on China's coastal Fujian province on Friday with heavy rains and strong winds as the most powerful storm to hit the country this year began its widely watched trek into the populous interior.

The storm, which has already killed dozens of people as it swept through Taiwan and worsened seasonal rains in the Philippines, has affected almost 630,000 people in China's Fujian so far, with almost half of them having to be relocated, the official Xinhua news agency reported.

Gaemi was still packing winds of up to 100.8 kph (62.6 mph) near its center, easing slightly from 118.8 kph logged on Thursday night when it landed in the Fujian city of Putian.

While Gaemi has been downgraded as a tropical storm due to the slower wind speeds, its vast cloud-bands remain a significant flood risk, particularly to rivers in central China already elevated due to an earlier bout of summer rains.

Scientists have warned that global warming was worsening tropical storms, making them less frequent but much more intense, according to a report published on Friday.

Hours ahead of the typhoon's arrival, the Standing Committee of the Communist Party's politburo, helmed by President Xi Jinping, held a special meeting on flood control and urged cadres across the country to protect lives.

Efforts must be made to prevent any breaches of major rivers and the collapse of large and key medium-sized reservoirs, according to a readout of the meeting published by Xinhua.

Due to the typhoon, 72 townships across Fujian recorded an accumulated precipitation exceeding 250 mm (9.8 inches), with the highest reaching 512.8 mm, local weather bureaus said.

By late Friday, Gaemi is expected to reach Jiangxi province, home to Poyang lake, China's largest freshwater lake.

On Thursday, Gaemi swept through Taiwan with super-gales of up to 227 kph (141 mph) and dumped over 1,800 mm of rain in the island's southern mountains, flooding several cities and towns. It injured more than 500 people and killed five.

The typhoon also sank a freighter off the Taiwanese coast and killed 32 people in the Philippines, where its capital Manila declared a "state of calamity" after widespread flooding. A marine tanker carrying industrial fuel also sank in rough seas off the Philippines.