A Marshall Islands-flagged oil tanker sailing from the United Arab Emirates to Singapore made a sudden course change and was heading toward Iranian territorial waters, British maritime security firm Ambrey said on Friday.
Ambrey said the tanker, reported 22 nautical miles east of the UAE port of Khor Fakkan, had earlier been approached by three small boats while transiting southbound through the Strait of Hormuz before later deviating course in the Gulf of Oman.
The agency said the incident was "likely highly targeted."
The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations center, which first reported the incident as a "suspicious event," said it had received an alert of an incident 20 nautical miles east of Khor Fakkan.
The UAE authorities did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
