Iran seized a Marshall Islands-flagged oil tanker sailing from the United Arab Emirates to Singapore, a US official told the Associated Press on Friday afternoon. The tanker had made a sudden course and began heading toward Iranian territorial waters, British maritime security firm Ambrey noted earlier Friday morning.
Ambrey said the tanker, reported 22 nautical miles east of the UAE port of Khor Fakkan, had earlier been approached by three small boats while transiting southbound through the Strait of Hormuz before later deviating course in the Gulf of Oman. The agency said the incident was "likely highly targeted." The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations center, which first reported the incident as a "suspicious event," said it had received an alert of an incident 20 nautical miles east of Khor Fakkan.
UKMTO marked the incident as a suspicious activity and added that the authorities are investigating it. According to Ambrey, the vessel had previously been approached by three small boats while transiting southbound through the Strait of Hormuz. The UAE authorities did not immediately respond to a request for comment. (Ed note: Well worth noting. This is an old but dangerous scenario from Iran. To sink a big tanker somewhere in the shallow part of the Strait of Hormuz would be very damaging to the world oil trade.) (Source)
