UK agency warns of ‘potential hijack’ of ship off UAE coast

Iran denies any connection with the reported incident amid heightened tensions around the Strait of Hormuz.

A British maritime agency has said that a “potential hijack” is unfolding off the coast of the United Arab Emirates’s Fujairah region in the Gulf of Oman, without giving details on the vessel or vessels involved, as several other ships also indicated they were in trouble. The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) had in an earlier warning notice on Tuesday, based on a third-party source, advised ships to exercise extreme caution due to an incident approximately 60 nautical miles (111km) east of Fujairah. Shipping authority Lloyd’s List and maritime intelligence firm Dryad Global both identified the vessel involved in the incident 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 late Tuesday.