‘Hijacked’ oil tanker back in port after cargo dispute
AN OIL tanker taken over by armed men in the Gulf of Oman has been released and is ‘safe’ – amid claims it was at the centre of a commercial dispute about its cargo.
Reports had suggested the Panamaflagged Asphalt Princess had been hijacked off the coast of the UAE on Tuesday. Authorities in Oman confirmed yesterday the group who boarded the vessel had since left and the ship was heading back to Oman.
British ‘shipping Bible’ Lloyd’s List said the incident was likely to have been the result of a row over its cargo.
Editor Richard Meade tweeted there were ‘red flags’ because the Asphalt Princess’s owners have around 20 other ageing vessels with gaps in their tracking systems, meaning their location cannot easily be monitored.
He said there were similarities to an incident in 2019 involving a vessel owned by the same company, which was ‘initially reported as a hijack but later recast as a commercial dispute’.
At the time, Iran claimed the vessel
had been smuggling a million litres of oil. Western security sources had blamed Iran for Tuesday’s incident, which Tehran said was being exploited for propaganda purposes.
Iran is also said to be behind a drone strike on the Israeli-managed tanker Mercer Street off the Omani coast last week that killed two people, including British ex-soldier Adrian Underwood.
The UK’s chief of the defence staff, Gen Sir Nick Carter, has called for action against Iran’s ‘reckless behaviour’ before it escalates.