British Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt confirms two vessels have been seized by Iranian authorities in the Strait of Hormuz – Updated

Update: British Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt says two vessels have been seized by Iranian authorities in the Strait of Hormuz.

Hunt said Friday he will shortly attend an emergency government session to see what can be done to secure the release of the two vessels.

He says they are a British-flagged vessel and a Liberian-flagged vessel.

He said the crews comprise a range of nationalities but are not believed to include British citizens.

UPDATE: A second UK-linked vessel turns sharply towards Islamic republic, The Independent reports. Reuters reports that a second tanker, the British-operated Mesdar, also made a sharp change of direction in the Gulf around the same time. But the Guards made no mention of a second vessel.

CNN cited a US official as confirming the second seizure.

Earlier: The British government said it is urgently seeking further information after a British tanker was seen to have suddenly veered off course and headed into Iranian waters, raising fears that it has been captured by the Iranian navy.

The Stena Impero, which was heading for Saudi Arabia, abruptly left the international sea lanes through the Strait of Hormuz and tracking data showed it heading north towards the Iranian island of Qeshm, where the Iran’s Revolutionary Guard has a substantial base.

Euronews reports ‘The tanker — Stena Impero — was “approached by unidentified small crafts and a helicopter during transit of the Strait of Hormuz”. The company that owns it, Stena Bulk, and the one that manages it, Northern Marine Management, said they were “unable to contact the vessel which is now heading north towards Iran”.

The ship has 23 people aboard.

Sky sources have confirmed defence secretary Penny Mordaunt has been briefed on the incident in the Gulf.

Relations between Iran and the West have been increasingly strained after Britain seized an Iranian tanker in Gibraltar on suspicion of smuggling oil to Syria in breach of European Union sanctions.

This is a developing story via BBC / Guardian / Sky / Euronews / The Defence Post