MV Asphalt Princess' suspected hijackers have abandoned vessel off UAE: British Navy

MV Asphalt Princess, the bitumen tanker that was hijacked by nine armed men, has been abandoned off the UAE coast, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said in a statement on August 4, Wednesday. The tanker was taken over at the Gulf of Oman and was said to be headed towards the congested Strait of Hormuz.

"Iranian people onboard," the voice of a crew member was intercepted as saying.

The naval officers decoded intercepts from the asphalt vessel which allegedly said that nine gunmen that attacked the tanker were Iranian, the British Navy informed AP. The air traffic recordings were shared with AP, which revealed crew members telling the Emirate's Coast Guards in a "muffled voice" that the "five or six armed Iranians had boarded the tanker." Additionally, the radio chat also revealed that the Panama-flagged Asphalt tanker was being drifted to Sohar. "We are...now, drifting. We cannot tell you exact out ETA to (get to) Sohar," two other crew members, identified as Indian and Indonesian said on the radio. Take a look at the spot where the vessel was hijacked:

UKMTO declares "vessel is safe"

The United Kingdom Maritime Operations too to Twitter to update status about the "potential hijack." The UKMTO on August 1, alerted the naval fleet along the Gulf about the potential hijack. The operators updated the coordinates and mentioned that the "incident is underway." The incident escalated fears of "suspicious" maritime activities in the Middle East waters. Take a look at the location where it was marked safe:

The Panama-flagged Asphalt Princess Attack

As per reports, the attackers boarded the Asphalt Princess while it was sailing along the coast of Fujairah, United Arab Emirates. Oman military received the reports of the potential hijack, the AP said, and deployed Royal Air Force maritime patrol aircraft and naval vessels to "contribute to securing International waters." According to MarineTraffic.com, at the same time, six other oil tankers off the coast of Fujairah announced the failure of their Automatic Identification System. Meanwhile, the Asphalt Princess showed a gradual drift towards Iranian waters of the port of Jask. Hours later the drifting stopped and the ship changed course towards Oman. This led the British Navy to declare the vessel 'safe.'

Tension escalates in the Middle Eastern Waters; Iran denies involvement

The UK, US and Israel blamed Iran for the attack after no organisation took the responsibility for the brief hijacking incident. Responding to the allegations, the Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Saeed Khatibzadeh on Tuesday denied that Iran played any role in the said attack. He also called the recent maritime attacks in the Persian Gulf "completely suspicious."

Meanwhile, tension continued to escalate in the Middle Eastern Waters after a drone attack was launched on the commercial vessel on the Arabian Sea, MV Mercer Street on July 29. The incident shook naval units based in the area. The US, UK and Israel have strongly condemned the attack. The fatal strike killed a British national and Romanian onboard. Presumably, describe came at the heels of a framed nuclear deal with Iran. The British Navy official religion that the attack was launched by Tehran, however, no group has claimed responsibility for this strike yet.

(With inputs from AP) (Image: IMAGE: Unsplash/ representative)