Updated 6.55pm with government denial

The Maltese government has denied reports that a Maltese-registered tanker, the Seadance, has been seized in the Gulf.

A government spokesman told Times of Malta that Transport Malta had confirmed with the managers of the Seadance that it was operating properly and that no incidents had been reported. 

According to the spokesman, the master of the vessel confirmed that the tanker had been at anchor awaiting orders and had now sailed onwards towards its next destination. 

The Baghdad Post reported earlier on Tuesday that the crude oil tanker, gross tonnage 57066, had been seized in the Gulf.

The report came amid growing tensions in the region, with a tanker seized by the British in Gibraltar, and another seized by the Iranians off the Straits of Hormuz.

The 20-year-old vessel is currently listed on Marine Traffic as being at anchor, having entered the Gulf after Fujairah.

Another ship tracker myshiptracking.com also listed it as 'anchored' at 1.13pm CEST.

In the early hours of Thursday, the vessel was listed as 'out of coverage' in the Persian Gulf and said it 'stopped moving' 9.9 nautical miles south of Salakh at 12:52pm CEST.

Only in March, pirates off Africa’s western coast attacked a Malta-registered tanker, the Histria Ivory, and kidnapped three of its crew members.