By Isabel Debre and Jon Gambrell | Associated Press
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates The British navy warned Tuesday of a “potential hijack” of a ship off the coast of the United Arab Emirates in the Gulf of Oman, without elaborating.
The incident comes amid heightened tensions between Iran and the West over Tehran’s tattered nuclear deal with world powers and as commercial shipping in the region has found itself caught in the crosshairs. Most recently, the U.S., the U.K. and Israel have blamed Iran for a drone attack on an oil tanker off the coast of Oman that killed two people. Iran has denied involvement.
The hijackers who seized a vessel off the coast of the United Arab Emirates in the Gulf of Oman left the targeted ship on Wednesday, the British navy reported, without elaborating.
The British military’s United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations reported that the incident, which it had described as a “potential hijack” the night before, was now “complete.” It did not provide further details.
“The vessel is safe,” the group said, without identifying the ship. Shipping authority Lloyd’s List and maritime intelligence firm Dryad Global had both identified the hijacked vessel as Panama-flagged asphalt tanker Asphalt Princess. The vessel’s owner, listed as Emirati free zone-based Glory International, could not immediately be reached for comment.
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A TANKER was reportedly hijacked by alleged Iranian commandos and ordered to “sail to Tehran” – days after a suspected drone attack killed a British security guard.
A nine-strong armed group clambered aboard the Asphalt Princess in what Royal Navy monitors slammed as a “potential hijacking”.
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The Asphalt Princess was at the centre of a potential hijack off the coast of the Gulf of Oman
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It s thought that the ship was boarded by nine armed men in the busy shipping lane between Iran and the United Arab EmiratesCredit: Marine traffic
Shipping authority Lloyd s List
Maritime Intelligence said the vessel had been ordered to sail to Iran.
August 4, 2021
Maritime tensions involving Iran, Israel and Western states escalated further Tuesday when the British military reported a bitumen tanker may have been hijacked. Iran promptly denied involvement.
The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations reported the “incident” off the coast of the Emirati city of Fujairah. The operations center later said the event was a “potential hijack” without providing further details, The Associated Press reported. Reuters, quoting maritime security sources, later said the Panamanian-flagged tanker Asphalt Princess had been seized by Iranian-backed forces.
The ship was in the Gulf of Oman between Oman and Iran late Tuesday night, according to the maritime tracking website MarineTraffic. The tanker set sail from Khor Fakkan in the the United Arab Emirates and was en route to the Omani city of Sohar, per the website.
BBC News
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image captionThe MV Asphalt Princess was reportedly boarded by up to nine armed men
Men who boarded and seized a ship in the Gulf of Oman have left the vessel and all those remaining on board are safe, officials say.
A UK maritime security agency said the potential hijacking of the Panama-flagged MV Asphalt Princess had ended but gave no further details.
The bitumen tanker was seized on Tuesday heading into the congested approach to the Strait of Hormuz.
It is not clear who seized the ship, but analysts suspected Iranian forces.
Iran s Revolutionary Guards dismissed reports of possible involvement as a pretext for hostile action against Tehran.