Suspicious object – possibly a mine - found on oil tanker off the coast of Iran

Several maritime security companies have reported that a suspicious object was discovered aboard an oil tanker with Liberian flags off the coast of Iraq. 

The Dryad Global reports that a crew member on the MT Pola "identified the presence of a suspicious object attached to the [MT Pola's] hull whilst conducting StS 6nm South Al Bakr Terminal offshore Iraq" in the Persian Gulf.

The object in question may have been a mine, according to the report of a different security company. The tanker and its crew are at this time safe. A neighboring vessel, the MT Nordic Freedom, assisted the Pola's efforts to capture photographs of the foreign object.

The object was suspected to be a limpet mine, a type of naval mine that attaches to targets with magnets and is set off with time fuses. 

The Dryad report says it is unclear where the suspected mine was placed.

Security firms remain on high alert as the first anniversary of the killing of Qasem Soleimani approaches at the beginning of January. 

The Associated Press reported that the U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet is monitoring the ongoing situation.