LONDON, Aug 1 (Reuters) - Royal Dutch Shell is nottaking any British-flagged tankers through the Strait of Hormuzamid heightened tensions with Iran in the vital chokepoint foroil shipments.
"There are Shell-managed vessels in the Strait of Hormuz andthat will probably continue to be the case. Currently, though,there are no UK-flagged vessels," Chief Executive Ben vanBeurden told reporters.
If the Anglo-Dutch oil and gas company does use aBritish-flagged vessel in the future, it will be accompanied bythe Royal Navy as a precaution, van Beurden added.
Shell's rival BP on Tuesday said it had not taken anyof its own tankers through the Strait of Hormuz, along whichabout a fifth of the world's oil passes, since a July 10 attemptby Iran to seize one of its vessels.
That came two weeks after British forces captured an Iranianoil tanker near Gibraltar suspected of violating European Unionsanctions on Syria.(Reporting by Ron BoussoEditing by Dale Hudson and David Goodman)
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