BRITISH shipping firms are preparing to stop flying the Union Jack in favour of the Chinese flag amid fears Iran will continue seizing more UK vessels, it has been claimed.

The seizure by Iran of the British-flagged Stena Impero on Friday is said to have moved major shipping firms to look for alternative flags less likely to be targeted.

4 Shipping firms are said to be considering registering outside of the UK after the seizure of a British ship last week Credit: AFP or licensors

4 The Stena Impero was raided by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard on Friday Credit: AFP or licensors

The claims were made by Phil Diacon, head of Dryad Global, the London-based shipping risk management firm that on Sunday released audio of communications between Iranian and British armed forces in the moments before the seizure.

Speaking to the the Daily Mail, he said his clients were now considering flying the flags of other nations whose shipping Iran would not be interesting in disrupting.

He added the most popular choice was China, a major player in the Gulf and an important ally to Iran.

"Normally it's the British-flagged, US-flagged and Saudi-interest vessels that are the most likely to be targeted," Diacon said.

"We are starting to see talk of moving to Chinese-flagged vessels."

"Oil will continue to flow.

"The Iranians have no interests in disrupting other nations."

The Stena Impero was flying a British flag because it was registered in the UK and therefore covered by UK maritime laws.

Diacon added it typically takes at least a month for shippers to complete the process of registering their vessels under a different flag.

He declined to say how his firm obtained the audio recording, though did say the exchange was conducted over an open radio channel used globally by military and commercial vessels.

He added: "This obviously did, to an extent, catch the UK by surprise.

"The shipping industry was not really prepared for this".

Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt has called the seizure illegal and said that British shipping “must and will be protected”.

'ILLEGAL' SEIZURE

Iran launched a gunboat and helicopter raid on the UK-registered Stena Impero last week, claiming the vessel had turned off its tracker and ignored warnings after hitting a fishing boat.

Iran's Revolutionary Guard later said on the country's state television that the ship had been boarded for "violating international maritime rules".

But Stena Bulk, which owns the ship, said it was in “full compliance with all navigation and international regulations”.

The move is widely assumed to have been a retaliation to the British seizure of an Iranian vessel off Gibraltar last week.

The Iranian vessel was suspected of breaching an embargo on oil shipments to Syria, but Iran said at the time it would "not leave such evil deeds unanswered".

The Stena Impero was seized as it passed through the Strait of Hormuz, a channel on the Iranian coast that connects the Persian Gulf with the Indian Ocean.

The Strait is just 21 miles wide at its narrowest point, but provides passage for a fifth of the world's oil.

In a further taunt, Iran an Iranian flag was hoisted over the vessel after it was seized.

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In a letter to the UN Security Council, the UK's deputy permanent representative Jonathan Allen said the British vessel had been in Omani waters with its transponder switched on when it was approached.

Iranian government spokesman Ali Rabiei insisted at a press conference in Tehran yesterday that the seizure had been a "legal measure".

4 Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt has called the seizure illegal and said that British shipping 'must and will be protected' Credit: AFP or licensors

4 Iranian government spokesman Ali Rabiei insisted yesterday the seizure had been a 'legal measure' Credit: AFP

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