British Authorities Warn of “Potential Hijack” Underway in Persian Gulf

Jerusalem, 3 August, 2021 (TPS) -- The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) advised shipping near Fujairah in the Gulf of Oman to exercise extreme caution. Its website is now declaring that “an incident is currently underway” in that location and warned of a possible hijacking.

At this moment, various sources have been cited as saying that the Panamanian flagged vessel Asphalt Princess may have been hijacked.

Early today five oil tankers in the region reported that they were “not under command.” This could mean that they lost power for some reason and could not steer their ships.

The five ships were the Queen Ematha, Golden Brilliant, Jag Poojam, Abyss-1 and the Kamdhenu.

This news comes a day after both the United States and Great Britain formally accused Iran of being behind last Thursday night’s attack on the vessel Mercer Street in the Gulf of Oman. That ship was hit by a drone killing two of her crew, including a British citizen.