he United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said on Wednesday it had received reports of a vessel on fire northwest of the United Arab Emirates’ emirate of Sharjah, Reuters reports.
Ships in the area were initially alerted through a separate advisory, seen by Reuters, which said an oil tanker was on fire.
“This Advisory is not classified as a Maritime Security Event and has not been verified by UKMTO,” the email with the report said.
Separately, a spokesman for the US Navy’s Bahrain-based Fifth Fleet said they were aware of an incident off the coast of Sharjah and were monitoring the situation.
UAE authorities could not immediately be reached for comment.