According to a BBC report, a UK maritime security agency said the potential hijacking of the vessel had ended but did not reveal details.

On Wednesday, the UKMTO tweeted that those who boarded the vessel had left, adding: "Vessel is safe. Incident complete."

The British officials had sounded an alert about a potential hijack of a ship off the coast of the United Arab Emirates last night and it has now been confirmed that MV Asphalt Princess, a Panama-flagged bitumen tanker has been seized by armed men.

Lloyd's List Maritime Intelligence had confirmed the hijacking of the ship, BBC had reported, adding that it is heading into the congested approach to the Strait of Hormuz, it said.

Last night, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) had issued a statement advising extreme caution for ships near Fujairah in the Gulf of Oman without revealing details about the incident or the vessels involved.

Nine armed men were reported to have boarded the vessel as it sailed close to the entrance to the Strait of Hormuz, through which about a fifth of the world's maritime oil supplies passes.

 It is still not clear who has hijacked the ship but analysts have said that Iranian forces will be suspected, the report said.

The men who had boarded MV Asphalt were reportedly armed and said to have ordered it to sail to Iran, according to the BBC report.

According to BBC, a Dubai-based company owns the MV Asphalt Princess and two years ago, one of its ships was seized by revolutionary guards.

Hours after UKMTO had warned ships to sail carefully, it declared a "potential hijack".

Earlier, four oil tankers communicated that they were "not under command", which usually means that a vessel has lost control and cannot move. And, one of the ships later began steering, AP news agency reported.

During the same time, an Oman Air Force marine patrol aircraft was seen flying  over the sea, the BBC report said, citing  data from FlightRadar24.com.

A spokesperson for the UK Foreign Office said it was urgently investigating reports of an incident on a vessel off the UAE coast, stated the BBC report

The White House called the reports "deeply disturbing".

Iran's foreign ministry said reports from several ships were suspicious on Tuesday and cautioned against launching an effort to "create a false atmosphere" against Tehran, said the report.