Iran navy seizes Marshall Islands oil tanker in Gulf of Oman

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iran’s navy has seized a Marshall Islands-flagged oil tanker in the Gulf of Oman amid wider tensions over Tehran’s nuclear program.

Thursday’s seizure represents the latest-such capture in a waterway crucial for global energy supplies. The Navy’s Mideast-based 5th Fleet identified the vessel as the Advantage Sweet.

Satellite tracking data for the vessel from MarineTraffic.com showed it in the Gulf of Oman just north of Oman’s capital, Muscat, on Thursday afternoon. It had just come from Kuwait and listed its destination as Houston, Texas.

Iran claimed the ship had run into another, causing Iranian sailors to go missing and get hurt. However, previous seizures dealt more with geopolitics.