A mystery about the hijacking of an oil tanker in the Persian Gulf | abroad

Shipping traffic in the Persian Gulf under a magnifying glass. The State Department in Washington said the Americans were following the latest developments with “great interest”. Tensions on one of the world’s major shipping routes escalated once again after the kidnappers – Indian and Indonesian crew members later referred to as “the armed Iranians” – seized an oil tanker off the coast of the United Arab Emirates on Tuesday. The unknown attackers descended again yesterday. Without any injuries, damages or demands. It is not known who the kidnappers are.

The potential problems arose earlier in the day when at least five oil tankers off the coast of Fujairah (UAE) reported through the Automatic Identification System (AIS) that they were “not under command”. This means that the ship no longer has any power and is no longer able to steer. The place is important. Fujairah is an important port in the region for ships to transport new oil cargo, pick up supplies or exchange crews.

It can happen to one ship, but five ships at the same time is curious, Flemish shipping expert Stefan Verberkamos believes. , I know some crews are somewhat concerned over AIS’Not under commandIf they fear the approach of pirates. Little lie that it’s not worth boarding the ship. Perhaps this is the case. Or the hijackers themselves may have turned off the AIS system. Some ships tune their AIS signal when entering these sensitive areas. There are crews ignoring the destination port so that it is not clear where they are going. others add ‘Armed guard on board, so that they have armed people on board and therefore the kidnappers are in danger.”