Oil tanker held by Iran for over a year reaches international waters

An oil tanker held by Iran for over a year after being seized amid tensions between Tehran and the United States reached international waters on Thursday, tracking data showed.

The Marshall Islands-flagged tanker Advantage Sweet travelled through the Strait of Hormuz, where it was seized in April 2023 by Iran's navy while carrying USD 50 million worth of oil from Kuwait for Chevron Corp. The strait is the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf through which 20 per cent of the world's oil passes.

Tracking data analysed by The Associated Press showed the Advantage Sweet had been unloaded while in Iranian custody and that the vessel listed as its destination Khor Fakkan in the United Arab Emirates, which has been the first port of call for other ships leaving Iranian detention.

Iran did not acknowledge the ship's departure. It came after an Iranian court earlier on Thursday ordered the US government to pay more than USD 6.7 billion in compensation over a Swedish company stopping its supply o