Ship owner loses contact with tanker off coast of Oman

Greek shipping company Empire Navigation said Jan. 11 that it has lost contact with its oil tanker the St. Nikolas off the coast of Oman and has activated an emergency plan.

Separately, the UK maritime authorities reported an incident Jan. 11 of a ship having been boarded by armed men and now heading toward Iranian waters, although it was not immediately clear whether this was the same vessel.

Contact was lost with the St. Nikolas at about 6:30 am Greek time (0430 GMT) as it was sailing off the coast of Oman, close to Sohar, a spokeswoman for Empire Navigation said in a statement. The ship has 19 crew members, and was loaded the previous days in Basrah, Iraq, with about 145,000 mt of crude oil headed to Aliaga in Turkey via the Suez Canal, it said. The charterer is Tupras.

"Empire Navigation have activated their emergency plan, notified the pertinent authorities and are making every effort to restore communication with the St. Nikolas," the company said.

Meanwhile, the UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said Jan. 11 on its website that a vessel had been boarded by four to five armed unauthorized persons at 3:30 UTC (0330 GMT) in an area 50 nautical miles east of Sohar. The people were reportedly wearing military style black uniforms with black masks, it said. The ship has altered course toward Iran, it added. A spokesperson for the US Navy in Bahrain declined to comment on the matter.

The latest incident comes on the heels of another attack in the Southern Red Sea on Jan. 9, which the UK's defense secretary, Grant Shapps, said was the biggest by Houthis in the Red Sea to date and the US said was the 26th on commercial shipping since Nov. 19.

The latest attacks in the Red Sea came to light following the recent deployment of US-led naval coalition forces to deter further maritime attacks by Iran-backed Houthi militants.

Platts, part of S&P Global Commodity Insights, assessed East of Suez benchmark Persian Gulf-North Asia Long Range, or LR 1, routes w2 higher Jan. 10, with Japan deliveries at w187. Market participants said Jan. 11 there was further upside potential for freight on these routes.