This US Navy handout screenshot of a video shows fast-attack craft from Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy moving to Panama-flagged oil tanker Niovi as it transits the Strait of Hormuz on May 3, 2023. (PHOTO / AFP)

TEHRAN - Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Navy seized a foreign oil tanker for what it called a violation in the Strait of Hormuz, without detailing, official news agency IRNA reported Wednesday.

Later in the day, Tehran's Prosecutor Ali Salehi said the tanker has been seized after receiving a complaint from a plaintiff and at the order of a judicial authority, without elaborating further, according to Mizan news agency of the Iranian judiciary.

The US Navy's Fifth Fleet claimed in a statement on Wednesday that a tanker, flying the Panamanian flag and named Niovi, was seized by Iran.

The oil tanker Niovi last reported its position at 0231 GMT on Wednesday off the coast of Oman in the Strait of Hormuz with Fujairah as its destination, Refinitiv ship tracking data showed

It added the ship was sailing through the strait from Dubai to the UAE port of Fujairah when it was seized.

The Niovi last reported its position at 0231 GMT on Wednesday off the coast of Oman in the Strait of Hormuz with Fujairah as its destination, Refinitiv ship tracking data showed.

According to the International Maritime Organization shipping database, the Niovi's owner is Grand Financing Co, and the ship is managed by Greece-based Smart Tankers, which did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

ALSO READ: US confiscates Iran oil cargo on tanker amid Tehran tensions

The Iranian Army said Thursday it seized a Marshall Islands-flagged ship in the Sea of Oman which, on the previous night, left an Iranian vessel it crashed into in the Iranian waters without fulfilling the obligation to assist the ship in distress.

Two crew members of the Iranian vessel went missing and a number of them sustained injuries following the collision, the Iranian army noted in a statement published on its website on Thursday.

This AFP graphic dated May 3, 2023 shows the map locating the Strait of Hormuz, where Iranian forces seized Panama-flagged oil tanker Niovi on Tuesday, US Navy says.

The army said international maritime law mandates providing assistance to the damaged vessel and the injured crew members.

Vedant Patel, a deputy spokesperson at the US State Department, told reporters the Biden administration and the "international community" call on Iran and its Navy to release the ships and their crews. 

"Iran's harassment of vessels and interference with navigational rights in regional and international waters are contrary to international law and disruptive to regional stability and security," Patel said.

READ MORE: Iran seizes oil tanker in Gulf, US Navy says

About a fifth of the world's crude oil and oil products passes through the Strait of Hormuz, a choke point between Iran and Oman, according to data from analytics firm Vortexa.