The Saudi supertanker 'Sidr' has been intercepted while sailing through the southern corridor of the Strait of Hormuz, after it suddenly activated its identification systems, according to Iranian media reports. This information has emerged shortly after the naval authorities of the United Kingdom reported an "incident involving a tanker and military forces."
"The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) has received a report of an incident involving a tanker and military forces in the Indian Ocean," the UKMTO itself stated in a brief communiqué.
In that note, the agency added that "the authorities are aware and the relevant investigations are ongoing," while urging vessels navigating the area to take into account "the latest information on maritime security and to stay informed about the evolution of the operational environment."
Moments later, major Iranian media reported that "the Saudi supertanker 'Sidr' has been intercepted while transiting through the southern corridor of the Strait of Hormuz," the southern sector of this strategic enclave that the United States uses to facilitate maritime transit to and from the Persian Gulf.
In particular, the Iranian state broadcaster, IRIB, has pointed out, without mentioning official sources, that "the tanker 'Sidr', with a capacity to carry two million barrels of oil, suddenly activated its automatic identification system while transiting through the Strait of Hormuz."
The 'Sidr', built in 2019 and measuring 336 meters in length and 60 meters in width, appears on most maritime traffic tracking platforms very close to the coast of Oman and, according to VesselFinder, is currently anchored.
Iran has questioned the legitimacy of naval transit through the southern corridor on numerous occasions. In fact, last Tuesday, when announcing a preliminary agreement with Oman regarding traffic management in this key passage, Tehran stated that the understanding includes the closure of this route, which the United States claims to supervise in coordination with its regional allies.
This same Sunday, the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps had assured early in the morning that a "super tanker" was "completely immobilized" after a fire broke out caused by the impact of two naval mines while it was "transiting the illegal route south of the Strait of Hormuz."
"The fate of vessels that violate the safety rules of the Strait of Hormuz will not be different," it warned, referring to the rules set by Tehran, which restrict the bulk of maritime traffic to the northern sector of this strategic passage.
The United States Army, for its part, has described these claims as "false" and has denounced "another attempt by the Revolutionary Guard to intimidate regional commercial transport through disinformation."