Iranian Ships Try to Block U.K. Tanker in Strait of Hormuz -- Update

By Rory Jones 

DUBAI -- Iranian ships attempted to impede the passage of a U.K.-flagged commercial vessel through the Persian Gulf, the British Defense Ministry said, a move that threatens to escalate already high tensions in the region.

Three Iranian vessels tried to block the BP PLC-run tanker British Heritage in the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday but were turned away by the presence of a U.K. warship, according to the ministry.

The British Royal Navy frigate, HMS Montrose, issued verbal warnings to the Iranian ships before they backed away, the ministry said Thursday.

"We are concerned by this action and continue to urge the Iranian authorities to de-escalate the situation in the region," it said, adding that the attempt to block the British Heritage's passage contravened international law.

A spokesman for the ministry added that the British Heritage had since left the Persian Gulf.

BP didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.

The incident is likely to further spook international shipping markets and investors and could accelerate U.S. moves to build a coalition of states to protect commercial vessels near Iranian waters, after a series of attacks on ships in recent months.

Front-month West Texas Intermediate futures recently were up 0.5% to $60.69, while Brent futures were 0.4% higher at $67.26.

Sepahnews.com, an Iranian news website tied to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps., denied the unit's forces had tried to detain the ship. "During the past 24 hours, no encounter has been made with foreign vessels including British vessels," the Revolutionary Guard said, according to Sepahnews.com.

Iranian officials have threatened to seize a British ship in the Persian Gulf after U.K. special forces last week commandeered an Iranian ship off the coast of Gibraltar. That ship was carrying oil bound for Syria in what U.K. officials said breached European Union sanctions on sales of oil to the country. Tehran has denied that the tanker was headed to Syria and called its seizure illegal because Iran isn't subject to a European oil embargo.

Iran's threats in the Persian Gulf have added another layer to the situation unfolding around Tehran's breaches of limits of the 2015 nuclear agreement, from which the Trump administration withdrew last year.

The U.S. also has accused Iran of attacking tankers in the Gulf of Oman -- which Tehran denied -- and said Iran shot down a U.S. spy drone in the area. Tehran said the unmanned aerial vehicle was inside Iranian airspace when it was downed.

The attacks on tankers have roiled oil markets and increased the costs of transporting crude and other products in and out of the Persian Gulf. Roughly one third of the world's seaborne crude moves through the Strait of Hormuz from countries such as Iraq, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

BP on Monday halted the British Heritage's passage through the Persian Gulf over fears it would be seized by Iranian forces. The tanker was sailing toward Iraq's Basra oil terminal when it turned around on Saturday and stopped off the coast of Saudi Arabia. The ship was located off the coast of Oman early Thursday morning, according to MarineTraffic.com.

The U.S. has worked in recent weeks on a plan for deterring attacks on tankers that calls for ships from Arab, Asian and other foreign nations to stand watch in the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman while maritime patrol planes fly overhead.

Military analysts say the threat is clear. The Revolutionary Guard Corps is equipped to swarm hostile vessels with fast boats armed with torpedoes and short-range missiles and small patrol craft equipped with machine guns and rocket launchers.

--Aresu Eqbali in Tehran contributed to this article.

Write to Rory Jones at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

July 11, 2019 03:05 ET (07:05 GMT)

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