Oil Tanker Seized By Iran In Persian Gulf Sailed Under Panama Flag - Reports

The vessel carrying contraband fuel and seized by Iran in the Persian Gulf sailed under a Panamanian flag, media reported on Thursday, refuting previous reports that it sailed under a UK flag

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 18th July, 2019) The vessel carrying contraband fuel and seized by Iran in the Persian Gulf sailed under a Panamanian flag, media reported on Thursday, refuting previous reports that it sailed under a UK flag.

Earlier in the day, the Iranian Armed Forces' Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said that it seized on Sunday a foreign vessel carrying contraband fuel in the Persian Gulf. The Iranian YJC news agency then reported, citing a source, that the ship had sailed under a UK flag.

"The vessel carrying contraband fuel and seized in the Persian Gulf sailed under the Panamanian flag," the Iranian IRIB state broadcaster said, citing a source.

The news outlet also released a video of the foreign vessel in which the the ship's name, "Riah," can be seen written on its side and "PANAMA" written just below that.

The Riah ship incident has been shrouded in mystery. Reportedly, the ship stopped transmitting its location signal on early Sunday morning near the coast of northern United Arab Emirates. Iran said it came to the assistance of the tanker when it received a distress call, but no other nation has confirmed receiving the call.

Currently, no country has claimed the ship. Despite the tanker being UAE-based, an official from the country has said that the ship was not in his country's possession.