Ambrey

Western-backed maritime forces in the Middle East have warned shippers traveling through the strategic Strait of Hormuz to stay as far away from Iranian territorial waters as possible to avoid being seized, a stark advisory amid heightened tensions between Iran and the U.S.

The US Navy said it had intervened to prevent Iran from seizing two commercial tankers in the Gulf of Oman on Wednesday in the latest in a series of seizures or attacks on ships in the area since 2019.

Chevron said one incident involved the Richmond Voyager, a very large crude carrier managed by the US oil major, and that crew onboard were safe.

Shots were fired at a tanker in the Gulf on Wednesday in an interaction with an unspecified country's security forces, a British maritime body said, the latest incident in a series of seizures or attacks on commercial ships in the Gulf since 2019.

The US confiscated Iranian oil on a tanker at sea in recent days in a sanctions enforcement operation, three sources said, and days later Iran seized another oil-laden tanker in retaliation, according to a maritime security firm.

The vessel is managed by Greece-based Empire Navigation.

A Greek-operated tanker was damaged by a mine at a Saudi Arabian terminal, damaging its hull, British maritime security company Ambrey said on Wednesday.

The Maltese-flagged tanker Agrari, is operated by Greece's TMS Tankers, Ambrey said. TMS could not be reached for immediate comment.