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The situation in the region is tense.
"Mercer Street" (picture) had already been attacked a week ago
Photo: RULA ROUHANA / REUTERS
A ship may have been hijacked in the Gulf of Oman off the coast of the United Arab Emirates. The British Maritime Warning Center (UKMTO) first issued a warning on Tuesday because of an "incident" about 60 nautical miles east of the Emirate of Fujairah. All nearby ships should be "extremely careful," it said. Shortly afterwards, the UKMTO issued another warning of a "possible kidnapping".
According to the company Dryad Global, which specializes in maritime security, the ship "Asphalt Princess", a tanker sailing under the Panamanian flag, is involved.
The Omani Air Force was in action with sea reconnaissance planes in the area, it said.
On the website »Flightradar24« it could be seen that a reconnaissance plane was circling over the area in question.
The Gulf of Oman lies between Oman and Iran.
There has been no official confirmation of the incident so far.
It also remained unclear how many ships were involved and who could be behind the alleged hijacking.
The British "Times" reported, citing government sources, that a "force" of eight or more armed men had brought the "Asphalt Princess" under their control.
The government in London assumes that Iran or militias allied with the country are responsible for the kidnapping.
The paper quoted British sources as saying they would "work on the assumption that Iranian military or agents have boarded the ship."
The British Foreign Office said it is "urgently investigating an incident on a ship off the coast of the United Arab Emirates."
Iran speaks of "baseless allegations"
The Iranian Foreign Ministry described the incident as "suspicious" and warned against re-unreasonable allegations.
"These continuous incidents for the ships in the Persian Gulf are extremely questionable and suspicious," said Foreign Office spokesman Said Chatibsadeh.
Above all, the incidents should not be used as a pretext for the implementation of certain political goals in the region.
For Iran, the safety of shipping in the Persian Gulf is extremely important.
Tehran is ready to offer its assistance, the spokesman said, according to the Isna news agency.
Ships enter the Persian Gulf via the Gulf of Oman and the Strait of Hormuz.
The route is considered to be one of the most important sea connections for international trade.
The situation in the region is particularly tense for seafaring.
There had been incidents there again and again.
Most recently, a British man and the Romanian captain were killed in a drone attack on the oil tanker "Mercer Street" in the Persian Gulf.
Britain, Romania, Israel and the US blame Iran for the incident.
The background to the tensions in the Middle East, which have increased in recent years, is, among other things, the dispute over the international nuclear agreement with Iran.
The US unilaterally terminated the agreement in May 2018.
Since then, there have been several incidents and acts of sabotage against oil tankers and attacks on oil facilities in the Gulf.
The latest incidents come just days before the inauguration of the new Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi.
sol / dpa / Reuters