UPDATE 2-Reports of vessel on fire off UAE's Sharjah -UKMTO

The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said on Wednesday it had received reports of a vessel on fire northwest of the United Arab Emirates' emirate of Sharjah.

Ships in the area were initially alerted through a separate advisory, seen by Reuters, which said an oil tanker was on fire. "This Advisory is not classified as a Maritime Security Event and has not been verified by UKMTO," the email with the report said.

Separately, a spokesman for the U.S. Navy's Bahrain-based Fifth Fleet said they were aware of an incident off the coast of Sharjah and were monitoring the situation. UAE authorities could not immediately be reached for comment. (Writing by Lisa Barrington in Dubai Editing by Elaine Hardcastle and Matthew Lewis)

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