Oil Tanker Hijacked by Pirates off the Coast of Yemen

JAKARTA - A ship sailing off the coast of Yemen was hijacked by "unauthorized personnel". The current condition of the ship including the crew is not yet known.

This information was conveyed on Friday, July 17, by the UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO), citing unnamed military authorities.

The British-based maritime risk management group Ambrey said the ship was a Tanzanian-flagged oil and chemical tanker boarded by armed members of a group suspected of piracy.

It is also said that the South Korean Navy ship is heading to the location of the ship to provide assistance.

UKMTO urged ships in the area to "proceed with caution."

It is not clear whether the group suspected of being pirates is linked to Iran. However, Tehran has repeatedly warned in the last two weeks that they could expand the scope of the conflict by disrupting oil shipping lanes outside the Strait of Hormuz if the United States continued to launch attacks on the country.

Since the Strait of Hormuz is practically impassable, Saudi Arabia has diverted almost all of its crude oil exports through terminals in the Red Sea.

It was previously reported that a tanker was hit by an "unidentified projectile" in the Strait of Hormuz, off the coast of Oman, on Thursday, July 16.

The report said the projectile caused minor structural damage, but there were no injuries among the crew and the ship had resumed its journey.