A large British-flagged vessel has transited the Strait of Hormuz in the first such passage made by a UK ship since Iran seized the Stena Impero tanker last week.

Maritime publication Lloyd’s List identified the ship as the BW Elm. It reported that the Royal Navy warship HMS Montrose closely shadowed the vessel, but did not provide a direct escort.

Data from the tracking site Marine Traffic showed the commercial ship arrived at a port in Qatar early on Wednesday after transiting the strait.

The ship’s owner BW LPG declined to comment on specifics, but said the company “is grateful for the UK and international community for their naval presence” providing security to ships in the area.

Iran
Two armed members of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard inspect the Stena Impero (Mehr News Agency/AP)

Meanwhile, Iran has denied that any of its drones were intercepted after the US military said it took aim at two of them last week.

US central command said one Iranian drone crashed into the sea after the USS Boxer took “defensive action” against it last Thursday.

Military chiefs added the Boxer also “engaged” a second Iranian drone at the same time, but could not confirm it was destroyed.

Iran’s defence minister, Gen Amir Hatami, told reporters on Wednesday that “if someone claims, he should provide evidence”, adding that “none of our drones have been intercepted”.

He said that when Iran shot down a US drone last month it shared images of the wreckage to verify it.