Investigators from the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, and Norway claim they have reason to believe a "state actor" was behind last month's incident involving four oil tankers in the UAE port of Fujairah.
The preliminary findings of the probe into the incident that have since been submitted to the United Nations reported a "high degree of sophistication" behind suspected sabotage operations against the affected vessels anchored off Fujairah on May 12.
The findings highlighted the perpetrators' use of intelligence, explosives that were intended to damage but not sink vessels, "expert navigation of fast boats," and "deliberate selection" of the four tankers out of more than 200 vessels that were anchored in the area at the time.
The US had earlier blamed Iran for the incident, pointing out that the explosives were similar to naval mines used by the Iranian military. Tehran has continually denied the allegations.
The investigators are also set to submit their findings to the IMO.