A group of armed boats tried to intercept a vessel 16 nautical miles (30 km) north of Oman, according to a statement from the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations on Tuesday.
The UKMTO said it was investigating the incident, which happened in the inbound Traffic Separation Scheme of the Strait of Hormuz, News.Az reports, citing foreign media.
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Numerous small armed vessels attempted to contact the vessel via VHF radio, but it ignored requests to stop and continued on its planned route, the agency said.
Iran’s semi-official Fars news agency cited unnamed Iranian officials as saying later on Tuesday that a vessel entered Iranian territorial waters without the necessary legal permits, was warned and left the area “without any special security event taking place.”
The Strait links the Persian Gulf to the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea beyond.
OPEC members Saudi Arabia, Iran, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Iraq export most of their crude via the strait, mainly to Asia.
Three vessels, two in 2023 and one in 2024, were seized by Iran near or in the Strait. Some of the seizures followed seizures of tankers related to Iran.
