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First Minister John Swinney previously said he was "deeply concerned" to learn from media reports that the tanker was in the Moray Firth.

He said he would have expected to have been told in advance about steps to accommodate the ship in the firth.

However, last week Scottish Secretary Douglas Alexander said he wrote to the SNP leader to offer him a meeting, but he did not accept.

Swinney claimed the "the flow of communication" between the Scottish and UK governments during the Marinera incident had been "absolutely appalling".

He said it was "incredibly difficult" to engage the UK government on "significant" security issues.

The SNP leader said he had asked the prime minister for a "detailed briefing" about the Marinera, and added that law officers in Scotland had a clear responsibility for tankers in Scottish waters.

He told reporters: "I got a reply from Douglas Alexander which basically told me that this whole issue was none of my business.

"So if that's what Mr Alexander is suggesting, is an invitation to dialogue, I suggest he goes and redrafts his letters before he sends them to me."

The UK government previously said that the tanker had entered UK waters to take on fresh supplies.

It is understood US military aircraft landed at small civilian airports in Wick, Caithness, and Benbecula in the Western Isles during the operation on 7 January.

At the time the MoD confirmed that the Royal Navy tanker RFA Tideforce and RAF surveillance aircraft were supporting American personnel and that "deterring, disrupting and degrading" Russia's "shadow fleet" was a priority.

The Marinera has been in the firth off Burghead, a village on the Moray coast.

The Moray Firth is a sheltered area of sea between the east Highland coast and the coasts of Moray and Aberdeenshire.