On 3 February, an incident, which occurred 16 nautical miles north of Oman within the inbound Traffic Separation Scheme (TSS) of the Strait of Hormuz.
According to the report, the vessel was hailed via VHF radio by several small armed boats. The ship ignored the request to stop and continued along its planned route.
The vessel, identified as the tanker Stena Imperative, was reportedly ordered by authorities, according to Reuters, to stop its engines and prepare to be boarded before it could accelerate and continue its voyage. The tanker did not enter Iranian internal territorial waters and was escorted by a U.S. warship.
Later the same day, Iran’s Fars news agency cited unnamed Iranian officials stating that a vessel had entered Iranian territorial waters without the required legal permits, was warned, and subsequently left the area “without any special security event taking place.”
