A SHIP anchored off the east coast of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has been seized and is heading toward Iranian territorial waters, the British military said today.

The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) centre said it had received reports of the vessel being taken by unauthorised personnel while anchored 38 nautical miles north-east of the UAE port of Fujairah, near the Strait of Hormuz.

The seizure took place hours after Israel said that its Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had quietly visited the UAE during the illegal and unprovoked Israeli-US war with Iran, though the UAE swiftly denied that any secret visit had occurred.

The Gulf nation normalised relations with Israel in 2020 through the Abraham Accords. 

Iran has condemned that agreement and repeatedly alleged over the years that Israel maintained a military and intelligence presence in the Emirates.

Israeli leaders have made occasional visits to the UAE in recent years after the normalising of relations.

UKMTO did not name the ship and said it was investigating. There were no immediate claims of responsibility for the seizure.

Fujairah, an important oil export terminal and the main Emirati port outside the Persian Gulf, has been repeatedly attacked during the war with Iran.

Tehran’s forces have seized a number of ships since the conflict began.

Last week, its navy seized an oil tanker identified as the Ocean Koi, saying it was attempting to disrupt oil exports and Iranian interests, according to the official IRNA news agency.

The agency said the tanker had been seized in the Gulf of Oman and was carrying Iranian oil when it was boarded and taken to Iran’s southern coast.

The US sanctioned the Ocean Koi in February, saying it has been part of a “shadow fleet” transporting Iranian oil.