Iran detains UK tanker in Mideast Gulf: Update 2

Adds US reaction

Iran has detained a UK-flagged oil tanker, Stena Impero, while it moved through the strait of Hormuz.

The country's Islamic Revolutionary Guard (IRGC) said it "captured a British oil tanker for breaching international maritime law". The incident happened a few hours after the UK said it would hold onto an Iranian tanker it seized off Gibraltar earlier this month.

Tanker owner Stena Bulk said the Stena Impero was approached by unidentified small crafts and a helicopter while in international waters, and it is now unable to make contact. There are 23 people on board. The UK ministry of defence said it is assessing the situation.

Tanker tracking showed the Medium Range (MR) tanker, which typically transports clean product cargoes, diverted sharply from its heading of Jubail in Saudi Arabia and is moving north in the direction of Iran's Larak island — a holding point for the country's state-owned NITC fleet.

This is the latest, and potentially most serious, escalation of tensions in the Mideast Gulf that began with an attack on four tankers berthed outside Fujariah, UAE, in mid-May. Since then, two tankers have been attacked while traversing the strait of Hormuz, Iran has shot down a US drone — and the US said yesterday that it shot down an Iranian drone.

US president Donald Trump yesterday, after the drone strike, called on other nations to work with the US to protect ships as they transit through the strait. The US National Security Council said the US would work with allies to defend its interests against "Iran's malign behaviour."

Earlier today Gibraltar's supreme court gave authorities there permission to detain the very large crude carrier (VLCC) Grace 1 for an additional 30 days. It was seized on suspicion of taking crude to Syria, in breach of EU sanctions. Iran has laid claim to the Grace 1 and had threatened to retaliate in kind.

BP cancelled the charter of its Suezmax British Heritage through the strait of Hormuz earlier this month, and the UK government said three Iranian vessels attempted to impede it when it did pass through.