A US-flagged tanker was approached by Iranian gunboats in the Strait of Hormuz on Tuesday, an incident that comes amid heightened tensions between the US and Iran.

The incident was reported at 16 nautical miles north of Oman, within the inbound traffic separation scheme (TSS) of the Strait of Hormuz, the UK Maritime Trade Operations agency said in a social media post on Tuesday

“A vessel has been hailed on VHF by numerous small armed vessels,” UKMTO said.

“The vessel has ignored the request to stop and has continued on its planned route.”

The tanker involved was identified as the Stena Imperative, which was approached by Iranian boats and asked to stop, media agency Reuters reported on Tuesday.

Commenting on the incident, Martin Kelly, head of advisory at EOS Risk Group, said such interactions were not unusual in the area.

“The [Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps] IRGC regularly hails vessels in the Strait of Hormuz,” Kelly said in a social media post on Tuesday.

“However, against the current backdrop, tensions are understandably higher.”