Oman announced on Wednesday that it is conducting naval patrols and aerial sorties to follow up on the incident involving the tanker in the Gulf of Oman, confirming that it has deployed ships to help secure the international waters in the region. The Omani Maritime Security Center reiterated its commitment to ensuring maritime navigation alongside security centers in the area.
This comes as the Omani Maritime Security Center confirmed that the tanker "Asphalt Princess" was involved in a hijacking incident. Prior to this, the British Navy announced that the hijackers had evacuated the ship, which was hijacked off the coast of Fujairah in the Gulf of Oman. The British Maritime Operations Agency stated that those who boarded the tanker left it off the coast of the UAE, and the tanker is now safe and the incident has concluded.
The UK Maritime Security Agency "UKMTO" reported that the incident involving a vessel off the coast of the United Arab Emirates, considered a "potential hijacking operation," ended without damage. The source tweeted that the individuals who boarded the ship "departed from it," and the tanker is "safe and the incident is over."
It was not immediately clear who was responsible for the attempt to hijack the ship or the targeted vessel. However, the British maritime data magazine "Lloyd's List" and the maritime intelligence company "Dryad Global" reported that the ship that was seized is the asphalt tanker "Asphalt Princess," which flies the Panamanian flag. Attempts to reach the ship's owner, "Glory International," for comment were unsuccessful.
The announcement of the incident comes amid rising tensions between Iran and the West regarding Tehran's nuclear deal with global powers, where commercial shipping in the region has come under fire. This incident followed an attack five days earlier on an oil tanker off the coast of Oman, which resulted in two fatalities, with several Western capitals blaming Iran for it.
The U.S. State Department stated it was aware of reports regarding the maritime incident in the Gulf of Oman and expressed concern about what happened. It added that it would investigate the matter and continue to exchange information and coordinate with partners regarding the incident, indicating that an appropriate response to the attack on the Israeli tanker "Mercer Street" is forthcoming, and Washington is consulting with governments in the region regarding the response.
Previously, the Iranian Revolutionary Guard denied involvement in the ship incident in the Gulf of Oman off the coast of the UAE. According to local Iranian media, the Guard also denied any involvement by its regional allies in the incident, suggesting that the events may have been a pretext for actions against Tehran.
