Six huge ships have been identified, with at least one believed to be an oil tanker. The other boats are understood to be cargo ships. The vessels began appearing over the last few days, and are anchoring in the Bristol Channel off the coast of Gower.

The ships are waiting to dock at Port Talbot, Wales, and have come from all over the world.

One 200-metre long flat-sided vehicle carrier, Mediterranean Highway, is registered in Panama and weighs over 55,000 tonnes.

The other ships are Whitstar (Great Britain), Golden Eagle (Marshall Islands), Sagar Samrat (Singapore), Bulk Endurance (Panama) and SSI Excellent (Marshall Islands).

It is not clear how long the ships, which vary in length between 75 and 229 metres, will be anchored in the Bristol Channel.

A number of theories have emerged on social media as to why the vessels have appeared.

Some joked the boats might be bringing toilet rolls, in response to the recent panic buying seen in UK supermarkets.

One person wrote on Twitter: “The shortage of toilet rolls finally resolved as six ships anchor in the Bristol channel waiting to enter Port Talbot docks.”

Others said the sudden appearance of the ships could be connected to the historic drop in oil prices seen earlier this week – especially considering one of them is understood to be an oil tanker.

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One person said: “Oil tankers no doubt.

“Now the price of oil has dropped to the floor they don’t want to sell their cargo.

“They just moor offshore hoping the price will go up before they sell it.

“They do it off the east coast when they feel like it as well.”

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Another person agreed and wrote: “Oil tankers – they will stay out for a year or more until the price of oil goes up then come in.

“I have seen these tankers anchor just off Paignton and was told that this is what they do!”

On Monday oil prices crashed below zero for the first time ever.

The price of West Texas Intermediate (WTI), the benchmark for US oil, plunged into negative territory as the price of a barrel dropped to -$40 (£32).

That meant producers were paying buyers to take oil off their hands because storage facilities are full.

The price of oil has been steadily falling since the coronavirus outbreak first erupted in China at the end of 2019.

Since then, the shutdown of major economies and closure of travel routes has wiped out oil demand as transport ground to a halt.

Despite the reduce in demand, oil producers have continued to pump oil from their wells, causing a huge imbalance between oversupplied oil and a significant slump in demand.

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