Two Oil Tankers Reportedly Struck in Gulf of Oman

Two Oil Tankers Reportedly Struck in Gulf of Oman
The Associated Press and Reuters Jun 13, 2019 https://www.haaretz.com/middle-east-news/incident-reported-in-gulf-of-om...

There was no immediate confirmation from ship operators or authorities in Oman or neighboring United Arab Emirates

Two tankers have been evacuated after an incident in the Gulf of Oman and the crew are safe, four shipping and trade sources said on Thursday.

Dryad Global, a maritime intelligence firm, preliminarily identified one of the vessels involved as the MT Front Altair, a Marshall Islands-flagged crude oil tanker. The vessel was "on fire and adrift," Dryad added. It did not offer a cause for the incident or mention the second ship.

The Norwegian shipping firm Frontline confirmed that the Front Altair was on fire, Norwegian newspaper VG reported, quoting a company spokesman.

In addition, the Kokuka Courageous tanker was damaged in the incident, a spokesman for the vessel's manager BSM Ship Management said.

The spokesman said 21 crew members had abandoned ship after the incident, which resulted in damage to the ship's starboard hull.

The master and crew were quickly rescued from a lifeboat by the Coastal Ace, a nearby vessel.

One crew man from the Kokuka Courageous was slightly injured in the incident and received first aid on board the Coastal Ace.

"The Kokuka Courageous remains in the area and is not in any danger of sinking. The cargo of methanol is intact," the spokesman said.

The vessel is about 70 nautical miles from Fujairah and about 14 nautical miles off Iran.

Iranian state television's website, citing the pro-Iran Lebanese satellite news channel Al-Mayadeen, said two oil tankers had been targeted in the Gulf of Oman.

Iranian search and rescue teams have picked up 44 sailors from the two damaged oil tankers, the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) reported, citing an unnamed informed source.

IRNA said that the sailors were taken to the Iranian port of Jask.

Officials in the United Arab Emirates declined to immediately comment.

The Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) reported that Iranian search and rescue teams have picked up 44 sailors from the two tankers, citing an unnamed informed source.

The sailors were taken to the Iranian port of Jask, IRNA reported.

The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations, a maritime safety group run by the British navy, first put out the alert early Thursday, giving coordinates for the incident some 45 kilometers (25 miles) off the Iranian coastline. It did not elaborate but said it was investigating.

Earlier, the group warned that an unspecified incident has taken place in the Gulf of Oman, urging "extreme caution" amid heightened U.S.-Iran tensions.

Cmdr. Joshua Frey, a 5th Fleet spokesman, said the U.S. Navy was assisting the two vessels. He did not say how the ships were attacked or who was suspected of being behind the assault.

"We are working on getting details," Frey told The Associated Press.

There was no immediate confirmation from ship operators or authorities in Oman or neighbouring United Arab Emirates, in whose territorial waters four tankers were hit last month.

Officials in the United Arab Emirates declined to immediately comment.

Benchmark Brent crude spiked 4% in trading following the reported attack, to over $62 a barrel, according to early market figures Thursday.

The timing was especially sensitive as Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was visiting Iran on a high-stakes diplomacy mission. On Wednesday, after talks with Iranian President Hassan Rohani, Abe warned that any "accidental conflict" that could be sparked amid the heightened U.S.-Iran tensions must be avoided.