Tanker Asphalt Princess according to the diary The Guardian occupied eight to nine armed men. The “potential hijacking” of the vessel was alerted by the British Maritime Trade Organization (UKMTO).
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According to The Guardian, maritime security experts from Dryad Global and Aurora Intelligence have identified the endangered ship as the Asphalt Princess, which was destined for Sohar, a port on the north coast of Oman. The British Foreign Office said in a statement that it was “urgently investigating an incident on board a vessel off the coast of the United Arab Emirates”
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The British Organization for National Trade recommended, according to the agency Reuters ships to sail extremely carefully due to the incident in the area sixty nautical miles east of the Emirate of Fujairah.
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The Times of London subsequently quoted its British sources, according to which Great Britain is working with a version that Iranian army soldiers or representatives of Iranian-backed forces have boarded the vessel. In response to the information about the abduction, Saudi Foreign Minister Adel bin Ahmed Al-Jubeir told one of the American think tanks that Iran is acting to the detriment of others in the region and endangers shipping, Reuters writes.
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On Tuesday, according to the Guardian, at least five ships sailing in the waters of the Persian Gulf changed their status to “Not Under Command”, meaning that the vessel is incapable of maneuvering due to exceptional circumstances. According to Reuters, whether the change in the status of the five vessels was related to the hijacking of the tanker has not been confirmed.
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This has been the case of several shipping incidents in the Middle East recently. The last time the tanker MV Mercer Street faced an attack last Thursday was off the coast of Oman. The raid, which, according to British diplomacy, was led by combat drones, claimed two casualties. One British and one Romanian citizen died on board a Zodiac Maritime vessel owned by Israeli businessman Eyal Ofer. Israel has accused Iran’s age-old rival of the crime.
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Both the United States and the United Kingdom expressed support for Israel after the attack through their foreign ministers. The head of British diplomacy, Dominic Raab, said in his statement on Sunday that, according to information from British correspondents, the attack was carried out by one or more Iranian combat drones. He described the whole event as “a deliberate, targeted and clear violation of international law.”
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However, Iran denies all allegations. Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh warned shortly after Iran’s ambassador to Monday’s meeting with British diplomacy that Iran would not hesitate to defend its security and national interests. In a statement to the Iranian news agency Isna marked Khatibzadeh accused him of his country as “contradictory, false and provocative.”
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