British military reports ‘potential hijack’ in the Gulf of Oman as multiple oil tankers say they’ve lost control

• The British military is warning that a potential hijacking is underway in the Gulf of Oman.
• The warning comes as multiple oil tankers have reported losing control in the area.
• At least one ship was reportedly boarded by eight or nine individuals.
• See more stories on Insider's business page.

The British military warned Tuesday that a hijacking may be underway off the coast of the United Arab Emirates in the Gulf of Oman as multiple oil tankers reported that they had lost steering control

The British military's United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations, without providing any specific details, reported earlier in the day that "an incident is currently underway" about 60 nautical miles east of Fajairah port. An update from the organization states that the incident has been "upgraded to potential hijack."

The Associated Press, citing information from MarineTraffic.com, reported that four tankers, namely the Queen Ematha, the Golden Brilliant, Jag Pooja and Abyss, broadcast over the Automatic Identification System (AIS) that their vessels were "not under command."

That broadcast status typically indicates that a vessel has lost the ability to properly maneuver at sea due to exceptional circumstances. One of the ships later started moving, according to the AP.

In a follow-on report from Reuters, which cited Refinitiv ship tracking data, the outlet said that the number of ships affected was up to five. Reuters did not identify the ships.

A fifth affected ship could be the Asphault Princess, which security sources told Sky News had been unlawfully boarded by eight or nine individuals. "It was an unauthorized boarding in the Gulf of Oman," a security source told the outlet.

The events unfolding in the Gulf of Oman, which are still unclear at this time, come on the heels of an attack on an oil tanker off the coast of Oman with a suicide drone. The US, UK, and Israel blamed the attack on the tanker, which killed two crew members, on Iran.

Iran has denied any involvement in the attack, even though it has previously used suicide drones to carry out attacks abroad.

Over the past few years, the waters where the current incident is happening have seen a number of mine attacks and hijackings.

This is a developing story and will be updated as more information becomes available.