The SC Taipei — a Hong Kong-flagged, Shanghai-registered tanker — was on her way to Saudi Arabi

Marines from Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps are suspected of seizing an oil tanker at the entrance to the Gulf before releasing her when they discovered that she was Chinese.

An international alert was sounded after a Royal Navy warning system reported that the tanker had been boarded by unknown armed men on Tuesday night.

The UK Maritime Trade Operations notification system, which provides security information to civilian shipping around the world, did not identify the ship or the attackers. Dryad Global, a British maritime intelligence company, said, however, that the vessel was the SC Taipei, a Hong Kong-flagged, Shanghai-registered tanker on her way to Saudi Arabia. Her 22 crew were said to be Chinese.

Marine tracking websites showed the vessel being sailed to