The tanker seized by Iran has a crew of 24 Indians

29 Apr. (EUROPE PRESS) –

The tanker ‘Advantage Sweet’ flagged to the Marshall Islands seized last Thursday by the Iranian authorities has a crew of 24 Indian citizens on board, as reported by the shipowner.

The United States has demanded that Tehran immediately release the ship, which was intercepted in international waters near the Gulf of Oman, the Pentagon has reported.

The ship was headed for the United States, a spokesman for Turkey-based shipowner Advantage Tankers said on Friday. The ship was contracted by Chevron Corp and was carrying oil to the United States.

The official Iranian news agency, IRNA, has reported that the ship collided with an Iranian vessel in the waters of the Persian Gulf, for which it was seized and forced to head to the Iranian coast.

From the United States they believe that it could be a retaliation for the decision of the US Department of Justice to force an oil tanker that was transporting Iranian crude oil to China to go to America, according to ‘The Financial Times’.

This incident represents an increase in tension in one of the most important maritime routes in the world, through which hundreds of oil tankers pass every month from the Persian Gulf to the Gulf of Oman.