Ship Near Strait of Hormuz Seized and Moved Toward Iran, UK Officials Say

The ship is now heading toward Iranian waters, officials said Thursday.

Two men sit in a small boat on the water as cargo ships are anchored in the background in the Strait of Hormuz off Bandar Abbas, Iran, on May 4, 2026. Amirhosein Khorgooi/ISNA via AP

A ship anchored off the United Arab Emirates was captured and moved toward Iran, while a cargo ship near Oman was attacked and sunk, officials said Thursday.

The United Kingdom’s Maritime Trade Operations center, which is operated by the British military, said it received reports that the ship seized on Thursday was taken by “unauthorized personnel” while it was anchored around 38 nautical miles northeast of the United Arab Emirates port of Fujairah, an oil export terminal that has come under Iranian strikes.