Stricken Greek Product Tanker Appears to Be in Iranian Custody

A Greek-operated product tanker that was hit by an Iranian strike last weekend appears to have been towed to the north side of the strait, where it is likely in Iranian custody.

In the early hours of Monday morning, the tanker - identified as the Dynacom-owned product tanker Kavomaleas - was struck by an unknown projectile at a position near Kumzar, Oman. The situation on board was serious enough to prompt the crew to abandon ship, and they were safely rescued by a tugboat, reporting agency UKMTO said.

Dynacom reported that Kavomaleas was hit twice, resulting in an uncontrolled fire in the engine room. The crew attempted to put it out with the fixed firefighting system but were unsuccessful. The vessel was left adrift in the strait; any friendly salvage tug attempting to reach it would face serious risk of Iranian attack.

Satellite imaging from Tuesday reveals that Kavomaleas has been relocated to the Iranian side of the strait, not far from Larak, and a large spill appears to be emanating from the vessel's port side, trailing off to the east.

The area south of Larak is under the control of the IRGC Navy, and is located near its preferred shipping lane in and out of the Arabian Gulf. In its current location, the vessel and smoke from its engine room would likely be visible to passing foreign-flagged traffic.

As the crew have already abandoned ship, a hostage situation is not part of the incident. If the crew were aboard, securing their release would be a long process: Iran is currently holding two foreign-flagged container ships and their crews hostage, a negotiating strategy it has used many times before.

Kavomaleas' owner, Dynacom, is the tanker vehicle of Greek shipping magnate George Procopiou, well-known for his bold bets on challenging trading lanes. He noted last month that "Greece has a tradition of breaking blockades," declining to go into further detail. Within the industry, his recent operations in the Mideast are well-known (and in many circles admired).

Dynacom confirmed to the Financial Times that it had not approved any towing operation, and that it was working to verify the ship's whereabouts.