Fears that UK-flagged supertanker Pacific had been seized by Iran have been dismissed.
The vessel had stopped in the Gulf on Saturday and reports had suggested the Revolutionary Guards had seized it in retaliation for the capture by Royal Marines of Iranian supertanker Grace 1 in Gibraltar.
But according to a report by Saudi Press Agency (SPA), a British official reported that the tanker, which was traveling from Singapore, was ‘safe and well’.
It stopped as part of a routine procedure to adjust its arrival time at its next port, according to an official from the UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO).
It comes just weeks after attacks on vessels near the Strait of Hormuz, which have been blamed on Iran by the USA and Saudi Arabia, something Iran denies. Iran also shot down a US drone last month.
During a visit to the region at the end of June, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo encouraged Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates to do more to ensure maritime surveillance with Iran.
Pompeo, meeting with Abu Dhabi’s Crown Prince Mohamed bin Zayed, said he was hoping that more than 20 countries – including the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia – would work together on building maritime security.
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