British warship warned Iran not to seize oil tanker, recording reveals
A UK warship warned an Iranian patrol boat by radio against interfering with the Stena Impero as the British-flagged oil tanker passed through the Strait of Hormuz, an audio recording released yesterday shows.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps seized the tanker with a crew of 23 on Friday.
The recording is of a radio exchange between a Royal Navy frigate and Iranian forces in the Gulf as they ordered the
Stena Impero to change course. The British navy’s frigate
HMS Montrose is heard telling the Stena Impero that it was in a recognised maritime strait and did not need to comply with the demands.
The warship appears to later tell Iranian naval forces that they “must not impair, impede, obstruct or hamper the passage of the MV Stena Impero …” before the broadcast is cut over by another voice on the same radio channel.
“Please confirm you are not intending to violate international law by unlawfully attempting to board the MV
Stena,” the HMS Montrose is then heard asking the Iranian radio operator.
The audio was obtained by British maritime security firm Dryad Global.
In the radio messages the Iranian patrol boat is heard instructing the Stena Impero to alter course.
Responding to the frigate’s warning not to interfere, the Iranian boat says it is taking action for security purposes.
“This is Sepah Navy patrol boat. No challenge is intended, no challenge is intended. I want to inspect the ship for security reason.”
The Sepah Navy is a special unit of the Navy of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
The UK told the United Nations Security Council on Saturday that the tanker seized by Iran was approached when it was in Omani territorial waters and the action “constitutes illegal interference”.
“The ship was exercising the lawful right of transit passage in an international strait as provided for under international law,” Britain’s UN mission wrote to the Security Council. The letter was also sent to UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres.
The seizure of the tanker was in “clear violation of international law” because it was in Omani waters, the head of the UK Chamber of Shipping said yesterday. Chief executive Bob Sanguinetti said there was no comparison to be made with the seizure of the Grace I, which was done under international law for breaching EU sanctions.
The British warship was reportedly alerted that the Iranian forces were attempting to apprehend the vessel but was too far away to intervene, arriving on scene shortly after the ship had been taken into Iranian waters.
A voice, thought to be from the Iranian navy, is heard telling the Stena Impero to change course, and that “if you obey you will be safe”.
The UK said there was no evidence to support Iran’s claims that the Stena Impero collided with a fishing vessel.
Stena Bulk, the British operator of the seized vessel, has made a formal request to visit the 23 crew members.
Britain called on Iran to release the Stena Impero and told the Security Council it was working to resolve the issue through diplomatic means.
UK Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt said the action was “totally and utterly unacceptable” and a “clear contravention of international law”.
According to one report, the government could hit the Iranian regime with diplomatic and economic sanctions. The government said it had advised British shipping companies to stay out of the Strait of Hormuz area for an interim period.
Friday’s action in the global oil trade’s most important waterway has been viewed in the West as a major escalation after three months of confrontation that has taken Iran and the United States to the brink of war.
German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas warned Iran that its seizure of commercial vessels was contributing to an “escalation spiral” that could lead to conflict. “There can be no winners, only losers, in a possible uncontrolled military escalation,” Mr Maas told the Bild newspaper yesterday.
He called on Iran’s leaders to fulfil “their responsibilities and not continue with this escalation spiral”.
Mr Maas said European efforts were focused on keeping diplomatic channels open with “voices of reason” despite the challenges involved. “This is about preventing war,” he said.
Until now, the UK has backed plans to safeguard the 2015 Iran nuclear deal after the US withdrew last year and reimposed sanctions on Tehran.
In response, European signatories of the deal established a new trading mechanism to try to circumvent the US embargo and tried to keep Iran in compliance with the agreement.
But the latest events could change the UK’s position.
The EU publicly backed the UK after the Stena Impero’s seizure, but statements have simply called for the ship’s release and stopped short of condemning Iran.
Meanwhile, an Iranian tanker held in Saudi Arabia since being forced to seek repairs at Jeddah port was released and was returning to the Islamic republic, an Iranian minister said yesterday.
The Happiness 1 tanker “has been released following negotiations and is now moving towards Gulf waters”, said transport minister Mohammad Eslami.
The ship had been forced to seek repairs in Saudi Arabia in early May after suffering “engine failure and loss of control”, the Iranian oil ministry’s Shana news agency said at the time.