An oil tanker sought by the United States over allegedly trying to circumvent sanctions on Iran was hijacked on July 5 off the coast of the United Arab Emirates, a seafarers organization said Wednesday. Satellite photos showed the vessel in Iranian waters on Tuesday and two of its sailors remained in Tehran. The vessel then took on Iranian oil from Kharg Island to sell abroad, the U.S. government said. Data from the MT Gulf Sky's Automatic Identification System tracker shows it had been turned off around 4:30 a.m. July 5, according to ship-tracking website MarineTraffic.com. It filed a report saying the vessel and its sailors had been abandoned by its owners since March off Khor Fakkan.

Source: CBC News July 15, 2020 11:39 UTC