Tanker in Gulf of Oman boarded by 'unauthorized' people as tensions high across Mideast waterways
ABC News
An oil tanker in the Gulf of Oman has been boarded by “unauthorized” men in military uniforms
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates -- An oil tanker in the Gulf of Oman was boarded by “unauthorized” people in military uniforms early on Thursday morning, an advisory group run by the British military and a private intelligence firm warned.
Details over the incident remained unclear.
The British military’s United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations, which provides warnings to sailors in the Middle East, said the incident began early in the morning in waters between Oman and Iran in an area transited by ships coming in and out of the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf through which a fifth of all oil traded passes.
The U.K. military-run group described receiving a report from the ship's security manager of hearing “unknown voices over the phone” alongside with the ship's captain. It said that further efforts to contact the ship had failed.
The private intelligence firm Ambrey said that “six military men” boarded the ship, which it identified as the oil tanker St. Nikolas. It said that the men had covered the surveillance cameras as they boarded.
