UK agency warns of 'potential hijack' off UAE coast as 5 ships report losing control

[The SC]

08.03.21

British paper says London working on assumption that 'Iranian military or proxies' boarded Asphalt Princess vessel in area off Fujairah Emirate, whose dock is currently hosting Israeli-managed tanker hit last week in UAV attack that West has blamed on Iran

Britain's maritime trade agency warned Tuesday of a "potential hijack" underway off the coast of the United Arab Emirates after at least five ships in the area said that they had lost control of their steering.


It wasn't immediately clear what was happening off the coast of the Fujairah Emirate in the Gulf of Oman, days after an Israeli-managed oil tanker was attacked in the same area.

The Times of London reported Tuesday evening that British sources believe the Asphalt Princess vessel had been hijacked and were "working on the assumption Iranian military or proxies boarded" the ship.

Fujairah dock is currently hosting MV Mercer Street, the tanker involved in the attack that killed two crew members - a Briton and a Romanian. The United States, Israel and Britain said Iran was behind the attack.

The five vessels announced via their Automatic Identification System trackers that they were "not under command," according to MarineTraffic.com.

That typically means a vessel has lost power and can no longer steer. One of them later began moving.

The ships broadcast their warnings at around the same time as the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO), which is part of the Royal Navy, advised vessels to exercise extreme caution in the area some 61 nautical miles east of Fujairah.

It provided no details regarding the vessel or vessels involved.

The U.S. military's Mideast-based 5th Fleet and the British Defense Ministry did not immediately return calls for comment. The Emirati government did not immediately acknowledge the incident.

https://www.ynetnews.com/article/h1mcbr8yy


The ships — four of which have been identified as oil tankers called Queen Ematha, Golden Brilliant, Jag Pooja and Abyss — announced around the same time via their automatic identification system trackers that they were "not under command," according to MarineTraffic.com.

This usually means that the ship has lost its power and is no longer able to steer.

https://www.ynetnews.com/article/h1mcbr8yy

 

[Philip the Arab]

UAE needs nukes and LACM soon

 

[The SC]

 

[Dariush the Great]

These damn Belgians again!

 

[The SC]

UAE needs nukes

International waters off UAE coast..

Urgent: The number of uncontrolled ships reached 6 ships

 

[Maula Jatt]

UAE needs nukes and LACM soon

no, no one needs nukes

it brings nuclear race into the region

 

[Philip the Arab]

International waters off UAE coast..

Iran is a huge nation that is impossible to counter conventionally.

NBC are the only realistic options.

no, no one needs nukes

it brings nuclear race into the region

No my friend, everyone needs nukes.

 

[aryobarzan]

Possible false flag ops by UK and Israel...or may be aliens have landed..lol

 

[Stryker1982]

These damn Belgians again!

Must be Korean special forces.

International waters off UAE coast..

Urgent: The number of uncontrolled ships reached 6 ships

Any idea on what "uncontrolled ships" mean?

Seems like some of them suddenly lost power and stopped or lost control of the wheel and started steering towards Iran without their consent. Could such a device do this?

 

[Titanium100]

This is big fat fake news.. Intellectually bankrupt. The question to ask is what would Iran gain from this absolutely nada. They already hit their targetted Israeli ship last week and due to the tension being already high Iran has no interest in this whatsoever.. It will likely wait for another 2 months to hit another Israeli ship on international waters..

Nobody has jurisdiction over the international waters boundaries between GCC and Iran plus nobody has jurisdiction over the International waters in the Arabian sea nor the Indian ocean. Isreal was being hit in International waters outside of all national territorial boundaries while Iran will sit this out and pick their target again approx after 2-3 months.. But this one is a fat fake news the word potential itself screams fake news it makes no intellectual sense whatsoever.. The UK just desparately wants more people on their side and this fake news just damages their credibility

 

[Stryker1982]

In case people are wondering, this is what AVERAGE daily traffic in the area looks like. Absolutely packed with ships.

 

[Baghial]

These damn Belgians again!

whats this about belgians?

 

[Philip the Arab]

In case people are wondering, this is what AVERAGE daily traffic in the area looks like. Absolutely packed with ships.
View attachment 767106

How will anti ship missiles work here?

 

[925boy]

IRAN IS NOT PLAYING IN THE GULF THESE DAYS!

UAE needs nukes and LACM soon

TO DO WHAT WITH?

no, no one needs nukes

it brings nuclear race into the region

besides, any country that uses nukes today will probably get nuked by the world. No country that has it is bold enough to use it today imo.

 

[The SC]

The United States on Monday vowed to lead a "collective response" against Iran in response to a deadly attack on an Israeli oil tanker, with Tehran denying blame and warning against any "adventurism".

The United States and Israel said their intelligence concluded that an Iranian drone Thursday attacked the merchant ship MT Mercer Street, while sailing off Oman.

A British security guard and a Romanian crew member were killed in what analysts said was an attack that bore the hallmarks of a secret "war of shadows" between Iran and Israel, which included attacks in the waters around the Gulf.

US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken described the MT Mercer Street incident as a "direct threat to freedom of navigation and commerce."

"We are in very close contact in coordination with the United Kingdom, Israel, Romania and other countries," Blinken told reporters on the second day in a row that he threatened retaliation. And there will be a collective response.”

"I think Iran must face the consequences of what it did," British Prime Minister Boris Johnson told reporters, condemning the "unacceptable and outrageous attack" on the ship.

Iran recalls its ambassadors

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh said Israel "should stop such baseless accusations" and called on the US and Britain to provide evidence, if any, to support the allegations of Tehran's responsibility for the incident.