 Asphalt Princess in 2010 (whilst still calledThalassa Desgagnes) | |
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| Date | 3 August 2021 (2021-08-03) |
|---|---|
| Location | ~61 NM East ofFujairah,Gulf of Oman,Indian Ocean |
| Coordinates | 24°35′42″N57°17′10″E / 24.595°N 57.286°E /24.595; 57.286 |
| Target | Asphalt Princess |
| Property damage | 1 merchant ship damaged |
| Suspects |  Iran (alleged by US, British and Israeli officials; denied by Iran) |
On 3 August 2021 theasphalt tankerAsphalt Princess, travelling fromKhor Fakkan, theUnited Arab Emirates, to theSohar,Oman, was attacked and boarded in theGulf of Oman. The ship isflagged inPanama. The vessel is owned by Glory International, listed as based in the Emirati free zone.[1]
In early August 2021, theAsphalt Princess was widely reported in thewestern media as having been hijacked in the Gulf of Oman, 60 nautical miles (110 km; 69 mi) east the port ofFujairah in the United Arab Emirates.[2] The hijackers were allegedly backed byIran.[3][4][5][6] Shipping near in the Gulf of Oman were advised to exercise “extreme caution” by theUnited Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) earlier in the day.[3]
The attack was preceded by three similar maritime incidents inMay 2019,June 2019 andJuly 2021.
On 3 August 2021, four oil tankers calledQueen Ematha,Golden Brilliant,Jag Pooja, andAbyss, sailing in the Gulf of Oman, announced around the same time that they were “not under command."[1][7]
At 14:18UTC on 3 August 2021, watchkeepers at theUnited Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) released a warning statement to international shipping that a "non-piracy" incident had taken place 60 nautical miles (110 km; 69 mi) east of the port ofFujairah in theUnited Arab Emirates (at24°35′42″N57°17′10″E / 24.595°N 57.286°E /24.595; 57.286) at 12:30 UTC.[8]
At 04:44 UTC on 4 August, UKMTO released an update declaring the incident a “potential hijacking”, where a group of eight or nine armed individuals were believed to have boarded the vessel without authorisation and ordered the ship to sail to Iran.[9][10]
At 05:32 UTC on 4 August, the UKMTO reported that the boarders had left the vessel and that the vessel was safe, signifying an end to the incident.[11]
At 07:26 UTC on 4 August,Al Jazeera reported onTwitter that theIranian Armed Forces claimed to be "providing assistance and security for merchant ships" and were ready to send “relief units” to the vessel.[12]
Iran denied having any role in the incident. TheIranian Foreign Ministry said on August 3 that the recent maritime attacks in the Persian Gulf were "completely suspicious", while an armed forces spokesman dismissed reports of the incident as "psychological warfare".[13][14]
Oman confirmed the hijacking of theAsphalt Princess in a statement on 4 August, and theSultanate's Navy said it deployed several ships to the Gulf of Oman "to help secure international waters."[15]
Shipwrecks and maritime incidents in 2021 | |
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| Shipwrecks |
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| Other incidents |
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