LONDON, January 11. /TASS/. Unidentified armed men boarded an oil tanker sailing under the flag of the Marshall Islands in the Gulf of Oman, Reuters reported, citing a statement by the UK company Ambrey, which specializes in maritime security.

The company said that the vessel was sailing under the flag of the Marshall Islands about 50 nautical miles east of the city of Suhar in Oman, when it was boarded by four or five armed men dressed in military-style black uniforms and wearing black masks. The tanker's transponder was then allegedly disabled and the vessel headed for the Iranian port of Jask.

In the past, the tanker was allegedly used to transport internationally sanctioned Iranian oil before it was "seized by the United States in a sanctions enforcement operation under a different name."

Earlier on Thursday, the UK navy's maritime coordination center, United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO), said that unidentified men had boarded the vessel in the Gulf of Oman without permission.