Iran captures tanker owned by Greek magnate George Prokopiou – FT

Iran appears to have seized a tanker owned by Greek shipping magnate George Prokopiou after the vessel was attacked in the Strait of Hormuz, the Financial Times (FT) reports, citing satellite imagery.

The Kavomaleas tanker, which was heading toward the Persian Gulf off the coast of Oman, was struck by two projectiles on the night of July 19. The attack triggered a fire in the engine room, forcing the crew to evacuate.

Satellite images taken by the European Space Agency on July 21 showed a vessel in Iranian waters near Larak Island whose size and deck colour matched those of the Kavomaleas. A plume of smoke could be seen rising above the engine section. According to the report, the area where the tanker was originally attacked is now empty. The vessel had been scheduled to load more than 500,000 barrels of oil in the Persian Gulf.

Dynacom, Prokopiou’s shipping company, said it had not authorised any towing operations involving the tanker and was attempting to determine its whereabouts. The company also reported that another of its vessels, the Acheloos, carrying 2 million barrels of oil, was attacked on the same night.

Since the start of US and Israeli strikes against Iran in February, Dynacom has reportedly sent at least 10 tankers through the Strait of Hormuz. Last month, Prokopiou compared his actions to those of Greek merchants who broke blockades during the Napoleonic Wars.

“Greece has a tradition of breaking blockades since antiquity,” he said, adding: “I don’t want to go into more details, but I believe the hints are enough to understand what I mean.”

According to the Financial Times, more than 45 vessels have come under attack during the conflict, but this marks only the third seizure by Iranian authorities since the war began.

Following the collapse of the fragile 21-day ceasefire between the United States and Iran, Tehran has resumed attacks on commercial shipping, seeking to block a maritime corridor along Oman’s coastline that had served as a vital route for Gulf oil exports.

By Jeyhun Aghazada