Iran seizes Singapore-bound oil tanker in Strait of Hormuz, US official tells AP

Earlier on Friday, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) agency said it had received a report of an ‘incident’ 20 nautical miles east of UAE’s Khor Fakkan.

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.

Authorities are investigating the incident

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.

This is a developing story.

Jerusalem Post Staff contributed to this report.