Sea Of Oman News

Vietnam has been in talks with Iranian authorities over the seizure last month of a Vietnamese oil tanker off the Iranian coast, in an effort to guarantee the safety of the crew, the Southeast Asian nation's said on Thursday.Talks had taken place on a diplomatic level in Hanoi and Tehran "to verify information and settle the incident to ensure safety and humane treatment for Vietnamese citizens," Vietnam foreign ministry spokeswoman Pham Thu Hang told a regular briefing.The Pentagon on Wednesday rejected claims by Iran's Revolutionary Guards that they thwarted an attempt by the United States to detain a tanker carrying the Islamic Republic's oil in the Sea of Oman.American officials said Iranian forces had actually seized a Vietnamese-flagged oil tanker, MV Southys, and U.S.

Iran's Revolutionary Guards thwarted an attempt by the United States to detain a tanker carrying the Islamic Republic's oil in the Sea of Oman, Iranian state TV reported on Wednesday, saying the incident took place recently.Reached for comment, the U.S. Navy's Bahrain-based Fifth Fleet said it had seen reports of the incident but at present had no information to provide.Iran's state TV said U.S. forces used helicopters and warships to try to block a tanker carrying Iranian oil in the Sea of Oman.

Iran released on Friday a South Korean ship and its captain detained since January after South Korea promised to try to secure the release of Iranian funds frozen in South Korean banks under U.S. sanctions, a South Korean official said.The Iranian foreign ministry said the chemical tanker, Hankuk Chemi, was released after an investigation into environmental pollution, and at the request of the South Korean government and its owner, state news agency IRNA reported.The seizure of the tanker in the Strait of Hormuz off Oman in January had triggered a diplomatic dispute after Iran demanded that South Korea release $7 billion in funds frozen in South Korean banks under U.S.

A direct Chabahar-Muscat ferry line between Iran and Oman is planned to resume operation within a month, said Iran's official news agency.Ferries with the capacity of transporting 240 people and 40 vehicles will operate between Iran’s Chabahar port and Oman capital will be operational within a month, according to Hassan Ebrahimi, a deputy with the Ports and Maritime Department of Sistan-Baluchestan Province (where Chabahar port lies).After launching services to Qeshm Island and Bandar Abbas in Iran in 2016, Oman’s National Ferries Company (NFC) launched a direct ferry line from Muscat to the port of Chabahar, located in southeastern Iran in the Sea of Oman…

The Council of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) has condemned recent attacks on commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz and Sea of Oman.The Council  of the UN body expressed its concern over the grave danger to life and the serious risks to navigational safety and the environment to which such incidents may give rise.The Council also emphasized the need for flag States and shipowners and operators to review the maritime security plans for their ships and implement necessary measures to address the heighted security risk to ships operating in the Strait of Hormuz and Sea of Oman.Addressing the IMO Council, Secretary-General Kitack Lim also emphasized his personal condemnation of the attacks…

Saudi Arabia began naval war games including live fire exercises on Tuesday in the Gulf and Strait of Hormuz, the world's most important oil route, official media reported, a move that coincides with heightened tensions with regional rival Iran. Warships, speedboats, air navy aircraft, Marine Corps and special security naval units took part, state-run Saudi Press Agency (SPA) said. Live ammunition was fired during activities. The manoeuvres are aimed at testing combat readiness "in preparation for the protection of the marine interests of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia against any possible aggression," reported SPA quoting commander of the exercises, Rear Admiral Majed bin Hazza'a Al-Qahtani. The drill is also being conducted in the Sea of Oman, SPA reported.

Oman Drydock Company (ODC) informs it has appointed one of Oman’s most experienced maritime professionals as deputy CEO to help support and grow its expanding operations. Taking up the role of deputy CEO, Dr. Ahmed Al Abri, draws on 17 years experience working as a naval architect overseeing major projects in shipyards around the world in the U.K., Holland, Romania and Singapore. “When I first went to study naval architecture at Southampton University in the U.K., there were no shipyards in Oman,” he said.

Iran’s 33rd naval fleet has foiled pirate attacks on two Iranian tankers during the first days of its presence in the open waters and the Gulf of Aden. The timely presence and action of the Iranian Navy’s 33rd Flotilla thwarted the attack by pirate speed boats, equipped with various weapons, on an Iranian oil tanker in the waters of the Gulf of Aden three days ago, forcing the pirates to flee the scene. Five pirate speedboats had approached the Iranian tankers and were about to launch an assault on them. The Iranian Navy’s 33rd flotilla of warships, which is comprised of martyr vice-admiral Naqdi destroyer and Bandar Abbas logistic warship for intelligence-gathering…

The naval forces of Iran and Oman plan to hold a joint rescue and relief drill in the waters south of Iran in the coming months. According to Press TV, Iranian Navy Commander Rear Admiral Habibollah Sayyari said on Tuesday that the maritime drill is scheduled to be held in the east of the Strait of Hormuz and Sea of Oman, sometime between April 21 and May 21. The Iranian commander also highlighted the importance of naval presence in the seas for the two countries, and stressed that sustainable security in the region is a prerequisite for the fulfillment of interests of the neighboring states. The commander described Iran and Oman as two main players in providing security for the region.

Suhail Mohamed Al Mazrouei, the Minister of Energy for the United Arad Emirates will open the OPITO Safety and Competency Conference – OSCC 2013 – which takes place in the Park Hyatt Abu Dhabi Hotel, Abu Dhabi on November 19, 2013. This year’s event will be the fourth annual gathering of oil and gas operators, contractors and the supply chain together with training organisations to examine how to improve standards of safety and competency that protect the workforce and the industry’s reputation.

All 28 Chinese crew members aboard a China-linked cargo ship hijacked by Somali pirates have been rescued, the Chinese embassy in Tehran said. The cargo ship, Xianghuamen, was hijacked by Somali pirates in the Sea of Oman near Iran's southern port of Chabahar.The vessel, registered in Panama, belongs to Nanjing Ocean Shipping company in eastern China. The cargo ship, setting off from Shanghai, made a stopover in Singapore to unload, then headed for Imam Khomeini port in southwestern Iran when it was hijacked. Nine Somali pirates climbed onto the cargo ship by their own ladders, fired shots on the ship and seized the Chinese crew members on board. Two Iranian naval warships participating in the rescue operation followed the vessel and ordered the pirates to surrender.

Middle East Workboats 2011, the region’s leading event for workboat operators, builders and equipment suppliers returns to Abu Dhabi at a time when the maritime industry is rapidly accelerating in countries across the Gulf. Renewed growth across various important maritime and related sectors including harbour and escort tug business, support and servicing along with coastal construction, energy exploration and production and others underscores the importance of this event. A key opportunity in the sector is created by the ageing fleet of workboats in the region, with an estimated 40-50% of these more than 20 years old, requiring extensive capital investment in the months ahead in modernising and upgrading vessels.

Middle East Workboats 2011, the region’s main event for workboat operators, builders and equipment suppliers, returns to Abu Dhabi at a time when the maritime industry is rapidly accelerating in countries across the Gulf. exploration and production and others) underscores the importance of this event. A key opportunity in the sector is created by the aging fleet of workboats in the region, with an estimated 40-50% of these more than 20 years old, requiring extensive capital investment in the months ahead in modernizing and upgrading vessels. “The workboat sector is now once again firmly back in expansion mode, as evidenced by the interest this year’s Middle East Workboats has generated already…

Iran has test-fired a sonar-evading underwater missile that can outpace any enemy warship, the Washington Post reported. Iran earlier in the war games said it tested a radar-evading missile. Iran has a commanding position over the Strait of Hormuz at the entrance to the Gulf, a shipping route through which passes some two-fifths of all the oil traded in the world. Iran officials claim to possess a missile which goes as fast as 100 meters per second and that the boats that can launch this missile have a technology that makes them stealthy and undetectable. State television described the missile as the world's fastest. It also showed images of the weapon being fired from what appeared to be the deck of a ship, followed by the weapon traveling at speed through water.