ISIS is plotting to attack UK-bound oil tankers forcing elite special forces divers to scour ship hulls, it is claimed.

Brit spy agencies have allegedly received intelligence the terror group is planning to target the vast ships ferrying highly explosive fuel from the Middle East.

2 Elite naval divers like these are trained to defuse bombs underwater in the dark Credit: Alamy

The intelligence reports indicated jihadis could have got their hands on limpet mines, which can be attached to the hulls of ships, the Daily Mail reports.

It is thought they could be attached to the hulls of tankers carrying millions of gallons of oil with the resulting explosion strong enough to destroy an entire port.

And frogmen from the Special Boat Service (SBS) and Royal Navy divers are said to have been given the task of preventing it.

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The giant oil boats head for two British ports - the Isle of Grain in Kent and Wales' Milford Haven.

A senior naval source quoted by the paper said: “The threat against gas tankers emerged a couple years ago and we have been training to counter it ever since.

“The concern is that tankers could be sailed into UK waters and destroyed either with mines or improvised explosive devices [IEDs].

“It is entirely possible a major incident could result in fuel shortages in the UK and this would be disastrous economically.”

2 ISIS reportedly plan to blow up a gas tanker carrying fuel to the UK from the Middle East (File image) Credit: Alamy

Navy divers from the SBS and an elite team called “Fleet Diving Unit 1” are said to have been searching incoming vessels for the past two years.

The divers can swim to depths of over 200ft and are trained to defuse explosive devices underwater in the dark.

The frogmen reportedly use James Bond-style underwater scooters to propel themselves down the massive tankers, some of which are more than 300 yards long.

A Navy spokesman said it did not comment on Special Forces or ongoing operations.

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