UAE: ‘Potential hijack’ incident reported in the Gulf of Oman

British maritime officials reported a “potential hijack” incident in the Gulf of Oman off the coast of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Tuesday, possibly involving more than one ship.

The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) sent out a warning based on a third-party source urging vessels in the area to “exercise extreme caution.” The incident in question occurred 61 nautical miles (113 kilometers) east of Fujairah.

Reuters news agency reported Refinitiv, a global fintech and infrastructure firm, said the chemical tanker the Golden Brilliant has issued its status as “not under command” off the coast of Fujairah.

Later Refinitiv reported four additional ships posting this status, although it is unclear if these ships were involved in the same incident reported by the British Royal Navy group UKMTO.  

The Associated Press reported three additional ships, all oil tankers, sent out the same “not under command” signal in the area at the same time.

These alerts usually mean a vessel has lost power and cannot steer.  Circumstances remain unclear.

UKMTO described the incident as “ongoing” on its website.

Publicly available data on FlightRadar24.com indicates an Oman Royal Air Force Airbus C-295MPA, a maritime patrol aircraft, in the area.

Tuesday’s reports come after an incident last week on a Liberian-flagged, Japanese-owned, and Israeli-managed oil tanker, Mercer Street, in which two crew members were killed. The US, Israel and the UK blamed Iran for that suspected drone attack.

ar/sms (AP, Reuters)

Article source: https://www.dw.com/en/uae-potential-hijack-incident-reported-in-the-gulf-of-oman/a-58744919?maca=en-rss-en-all-1573-rdf