Two tankers have sustained damage in suspected attacks in the Gulf of Oman and the crew have been evacuated, shipping sources said on Thursday, a month after a similar incident in which four tankers in the region were struck, Euronews reports.
Oil tanker Front Altair operating under a Marshall Islands flag was carrying 75,000 tonnes of naphtha, a petrochemical feedstock, when it was “suspected of being hit by a torpedo” around noon Taiwan time, Wu I-Fang, a senior company official for Taiwan’s state oil refiner CPC Corp told Reuters.
He said all crew members have been rescued.
The other tanker, the Japanese- operated Kokuka Courageous – working under a Panama flag, was also damaged in the incident, a spokesman for the vessel’s manager BSM Ship Management Singapore said.
The spokesman said 21 crew 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.
Yutaka Katada, the president of tanker operator Kokuka Sangyo, said on Japanese TV that it had heard reports at 6am local time that “our ship was attacked by a shell”.
He added: “The shell hit a section close to the engine. It pierced through the outer panel and it came close to the iron plate of the engine room, creating sparks, which then caused a fire.”
According to sources cited by IRNA, Iran’s state news agency, Iranian search and rescue teams picked up 44 sailors from the two damaged tankers and took them to the Iranian port of Jask.
The vessels were about 70 nautical miles from Fujairah and about 14 nautical miles off Iran.
Iran’s response
The incident involving the Japanese-related tankers came as Iran’s supreme leader Ali Khamenei met with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
It led to comments from Iranian foreign minister Javad Zarif, who described the incidents as “suspicious” in a tweet.
He wrote: “Suspicious doesn’t begin to describe what likely transpired this morning.”
Reported attacks on Japan-related tankers occurred while PM @AbeShinzo was meeting with Ayatollah @khamenei_ir for extensive and friendly talks.
Suspicious doesn't begin to describe what likely transpired this morning.
Iran's proposed Regional Dialogue Forum is imperative.
— Javad Zarif (@JZarif) June 13, 2019
Statement from owners
A statement from the owners of the Kokuka Courageous BSM Ship Management (Singapore), said they are launching “a full-scale emergency response following a security incident on board our managed products carrier the Kokuka Courageous in the Gulf of Oman earlier today.”
International response
The United Kingdom says it is “deeply concerned” by the unfolding incidents in the Gulf of Oman.
UK Maritime Trade Operations, part of the Royal Navy, earlier said it was aware of an incident.
“UK and its partners are currently investigating,” the group said without elaborating.
A spokesperson from the UAE’s National Media Council told Euronews they do not believe the incident took place within UAE waters.
U.S. Naval forces are assisting tankers in the Gulf of Oman after receiving two distress calls on Thursday, the U.S. Navy’s Bahrain-based Fifth Fleet told Reuters.
“We are aware of the reported attack on tankers in the Gulf of Oman. U.S. Naval Forces in the region received two separate distress calls at 6:12 a.m. local time and a second one at 7:00 a.m.,” Joshua Frey of the Fifth Fleet said.
Oil prices immediately affected
Oil prices surged by 4% after the report that raises tensions in the Gulf, which have been heightened by a dispute between Iran and the United States.
The area is near the Strait of Hormuz, a major strategic waterway through which a fifth of global oil consumption passes from Middle East producers.
Evacuation
Two tankers, the Marshal Islands-flagged Front Altair and the Panama-flagged Kokuka Courageous, had been evacuated and the crews were safe, four shipping and trade sources said.
Not the first time
Last month four oil tankers were damaged in the same area after apparently striking objects in the water. The UAE said the incident appeared to have been the result of a sophisticated and co-ordinated action by a state-actor.
Tensions between Iran and the UAE and its ally Saudi Arabia have been mounting in the region, epitomised by a war in Yemen between forces linked to the two sides.