A Marshall Islands-flagged oil tanker sailing from the United Arab Emirates to Singapore made a sudden course change and was heading towards Iranian territorial waters after being approached by three small boats, British Maritime Operations Centre (UKMTO) reported on November 14.

The UK authority said the tanker, reported 22 nautical miles east of the UAE port of Khor Fakkan, had been approached by three small vessels whilst transiting southbound through the Strait of Hormuz before later deviating course in the Gulf of Oman. The agency described the incident as "likely highly targeted".

"UKMTO has received a report of an incident 86NM northeast of Ras Tanura, Saudi Arabia. The Master reports vessel approached by a small military craft and is flashing a green laser light towards the bridge. The small military craft keeps hailing vessel to turn to port towards Iranian territorial waters."

The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations centre, which first reported the incident as a "suspicious event", stated it had received an alert of an incident 20 nautical miles east of Khor Fakkan. UKMTO marked the incident as suspicious activity and added that authorities are investigating.

Iranian media continues to report the initial Embrey report; however, local agencies linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) have not yet reported the incident. 

This incident follows another maritime incident regarding Iran's movements. On October 12, approximately 75% of Iran's fleet began transmitting their location signals and switched off around one day later.

This marked the first time Iran's oil fleet had activated tracking systems since the Trump administration imposed comprehensive sanctions on Tehran's oil exports in 2018, according to IRGC-linked Tasnim News Agency.

The tracking systems began transmitting signals again approximately one week later. Kepler Information Company calculated that 75 vessels out of 89 ships carrying Iranian crude oil eastward were visible on ship tracking platforms. The ships have since resumed operations, but the incidents have prompted market speculation about the reasons.