Steven Hall
The British navy said there was a “potential hijack” of a ship Tuesday off the coast of the United Arab Emirates in the Gulf of Oman near Iran.
A branch of the navy first warned Tuesday morning that “an incident is currently underway” off the coast of Fujairah, according to the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations. A few hours later authorities said the incident was a “potential hijack” of the Asphalt Princess, a Panama-flagged asphalt tanker, according to the Associated Press.
Six oil tankers earlier announced with their Automatic Identification System trackers that they were “not under command,” according to the AP, meaning the ships had likely lost power and were unable to navigate.