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A tanker belonging to the Greek shipping tycoon George Prokopiou appears to have been towed into Iranian waters, according to satellite images, after being hit in the Strait of Hormuz on Sunday night.
The Kavomaleas was hit by two projectiles while sailing in the direction of the Gulf off the Omani coast on Sunday night, as part of a string of Iranian attacks on western shipping this week that have once again brought traffic through the Strait of Hormuz to a near-standstill.
The strikes caused a fire in the engine room, forcing the crew to evacuate the ship.
European Space Agency satellite images from July 21 show a ship with the same dimensions and deck colour as the Kavomaleas, and a plume of smoke rising from its engine, in Iranian waters close to Larak Island off the coast of Iran. The area of sea in which the vessel was hit is now empty.
Shipping analysts said that it was highly likely that the ship had been captured and towed into Iranian waters.
Dynacom is among the most audacious shipping companies, often taking trades in parts of the world that others avoid. It has sent at least 10 tankers through the Strait of Hormuz since the US and Israel launched their attacks on Iran in February.
Prokopiou last month likened his actions to the Greek merchants who broke through the blockade between the French and British in the Napoleonic Wars.
“Greece has a tradition of breaking blockades since antiquity,” he said, adding: “I don’t want to go into more details, but I believe the hints are enough to understand what I mean.”
The Kavomaleas, a one-year-old ship, had been due to pick up more than 500,000 barrels of oil in the Gulf. Vessels of its size and class usually cost about $55mn to buy new. The satellite image also shows a slick of oil following the ship.
Dynacom said that any operation to move the ship had not been approved by the company and that they were “trying to verify” its whereabouts.
It did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the satellite images but it did confirm that another Dynacom ship, the Acheloos, was also hit on Sunday night while carrying 2mn barrels of oil.
More than 45 ships have been struck in the conflict, but the seizure would only mark the third such capture of a vessel by the Iranians since the start of the US-Israeli war with Iran.
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps took two container ships, both operated by the world’s largest container shipping line MSC, in April. Negotiations to release the ships and crew are ongoing, according to people with knowledge of the situation.
Following the breakdown of the fragile ceasefire between the US and Iran that lasted 21 days, Iran has reignited its attacks on shipping as it tries to close off a corridor through the strait that hugs the Omani coastline and which had been providing a lifeline for Gulf oil exports.
