Tanker boardings show Gulf security risks

摘要

The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) on 3 August warned of a potential hijack incident in the Gulf of Oman. According to media reporting, as the Panama-flagged MV Asphalt Princess, an asphalt/ bitumen tanker, was roughly 61 nautical miles east of Fujairah in the United Arab Emirates, several armed men boarded the vessel and ordered it to navigate towards Iran. Shortly afterwards, however, the men left the vessel, prompting the UKMTO to report "Vessel is safe. Incident complete." Iran denied involvement in the incident. The boarding of the MV Asphalt Princess coincided with news reports of at least four other vessels (the Queen Ematha, Golden Brilliant, Jag Pooja, and Abyss) in the vicinity announcing briefly, through their Automatic Identification System (AIS) trackers, that they were "not under command" (NUC). These NUC incidents, unusual in their simultaneous numbers within a defined area, suggest the use of electronic or cyber interference in the operation to board the M V Asphalt Princess. Although a false-flag operation by third parties is a remote possibility, the temporary boarding of the M V Asphalt Princess, and potential use of electronic interference technology, point to Iran as the most likely perpetrator. Furthermore, the Homa, an Iranian amphibious landing craft, reportedly entered Omani waters just before the day's incidents.