Tanker safe after potential hijacking near UAE ends
A tanker seized by unidentified armed hijackers is now safe and headed towards the Oman coast, according to the Royal Navy.
The British military’s United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations reported on Wednesday morning that the incident, which it had described as a “potential hijack” the night before, was “complete” and that the vessel is “safe”. It did not provide further details or identify the ship.
Shipping authority Lloyd’s List and maritime intelligence firm Dryad Global had earlier identified the hijacked vessel as Panama-flagged asphalt tanker Asphalt Princess.
The tanker was believed to be travelling to Sohar, a port on Oman’s northern coast, when it was attacked at the mouth of the Strait of Hormuz on Tuesday afternoon.
Satellite-tracking data for the Asphalt Princess showed it gradually heading towards Iranian waters off the port of Jask early on Wednesday, according to MarineTraffic.com. Later, however, it stopped and changed course back towards Oman, just before the UKMTO made its statement.
Iran was suspected of being behind the apparent hijacking, but Iran’s Revolutionary Guards dismissed the reports as a pretext for “hostile action” against Tehran.
The incident comes days after Dominic Raab, the Foreign Secretary, accused Iran of a “deliberate, targeted, and a clear violation of international law” after an oil tanker operated by an Israeli-owned company was attacked by a drone off Oman, killing two security guards – one British and the other Romanian.
The US and Israel also blamed Iran for the attack – a claim it strongly denies.