U.S. tanker approached by Iranian gunboats in Strait of Hormuz

In this Thursday, Jan. 19, 2012 file photo, a plane flies over the mountains in south of the Strait of Hormuz as the trading dhows and ships are docked on the Persian Gulf waters near the town of Khasab, in Oman. (AP Photo/Kamran Jebreili, File)

British maritime security firm Vanguard Tech said Tuesday that a U.S.-flagged tanker was approached and challenged by Iranian gunboats in the Strait of Hormuz, before continuing on its way.

The Stena Imperative was approached by three pairs of small armed boats belonging to the Revolutionary Guards while transiting the Strait of Hormuz, approximately 16 nautical miles north of Oman, the company said.

The gunboats hailed it by radio, ordering the captain “to stop the engines and prepare to be boarded,” but the ship increased speed and maintained course, the firm added, stressing it did not enter Iranian territorial waters.

“The vessel is now being escorted by a U.S. warship,” Vanguard Tech said.

Earlier, the British maritime security agency UKMTO reported the incident without specifying the nationality of the ship nor of the boats that approached it.

The Strait of Hormuz, a key passage for global transport of oil and liquefied natural gas, has been the scene of several incidents in the past.

A senior Iranian official from the naval forces of the Revolutionary Guards, the ideological army of the Islamic Republic, threatened last week to block the passage in the event of a U.S. attack.