Gulf of Oman: Where is the Gulf of Oman? Who attacked tankers in the Middle Eastern Gulf? - Express.co.uk

Oil tankers have been attacked in the Gulf of Oman, with explosions heard and the UK maritime safety group warning of an unspecified incident. The huge vessels have been identified as Front Altair and Kokuka Courageous and were evacuated. The Front Altair, which was carrying crude oil, is suspected to have been struck by a torpedo, according to shipping industry newspaper TradeWinds. But where is the Gulf of Oman and who attacked the tankers in the Middle Eastern Gulf?

The two tankers were hit in suspected attacks in the Gulf of Oman yesterday morning.

The crews have been evacuated according to shipping sources.

Oil prices have surged by 4 percent, according to Reuters after tensions were raised followed by a dispute between Iran and the United Staes.

This comes after the US claimed Iran used explosives to blow huge holes in four ships - including two Saudi oil tankers - anchored in the Persian Gulf last month.

What happened in the Gulf of Oman?

Two oil tankers have been hit in suspected attacks amid rising tensions between Iran and the United States of America.

The UK Maritime Trade Operations, which is part of the Royal Navy, has urged “extreme caution”.

The group put out the alert early this morning and said it was investigating.

According to Reuters, 21 crew members abandoned ship after incident in Gulf of Oman.

Reports of the explosions are yet to be officially confirmed by any oil tanker firms or regional governments.

Wu I-fang, a spokesman for Taiwan's CPC Corp oil refiner, which chartered the Front Altair, said it was carrying 75,000 tonnes of naphtha and was "suspected of being hit by a torpedo", although this has not been confirmed.

The US Navy’s Bahrain-based Fifth Fleet said their forces are assisting tankers after receiving two distress calls.

Josh Frey, of the 5th Fleet, said in a statement: "US naval forces in the region received two separate distress calls at 6.12am local time and a second one at 7am.

"US Navy ships are in the area and are rendering assistance."

Where is the Gulf of Oman?

The Gulf of Oman connects the Arabian Sea with the Strait of Hormuz, which subsequently runs to the Persian Gulf.

It borders Iran and Pakistan on the north, Oman on the south, and the United Arab Emirates on the west.

The area is near the Strait of Hormuz, which is a major strategic waterway through which a fifth of global oil consumption passes from Middle East producers.

In 2018, scientists confirmed the Gulf of Oman contains one of the world's largest marine dead zones, where the ocean contains little or no oxygen and marine wildlife cannot exist.

The dead zone encompasses nearly the entire 63,700-square-mile Gulf of Oman and the cause is a combination of increased ocean warming and increased runoff of nitrogen and phosphorus from fertilizers.

Who attacked the tankers in the Gulf of Oman?

No one has yet claimed responsibility for the attacks on the oil tankers.

However, the US has accused Iran of the incident, but Iran has denied involvement in the apparent attacks today and last month, and has also accused the US of agressive behaviour.

Iran says it "categorically rejects" US claims that it is behind attacks on two oil tankers in the Gulf of Oman.

The attacks come after increased long-standing tensions between Iran and the US and its allies in the Gulf.

Last month, four tankers were attacked off the United Arab Emirates.

The UAE blamed an unnamed "state actor" for the attack, which involved naval mines.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is currently visiting Iran in a bid to de-escalate the situation.

Speaking yesterday after talks with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, Mr Abe warned that any "accidental conflict" must be avoided.

Mr Abe is due to meet with Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei today, for the second and final day of his visit.

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2019-06-14 07:17:00Z
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US seizes on tanker attacks to up the stakes with Iran - CNN

What is the United States going to do about it?

Just over 12 hours after reports broke in slumbering Washington about the new crisis, Pompeo appeared in the State Department Briefing Room to significantly raise the stakes.

"It is the assessment of the United States government that the Islamic Republic of Iran is responsible for the attacks that occurred in the Gulf of Oman today," Pompeo said.

He cited intelligence, weapons used, the required expertise and sophistication of the assault and previous attacks to conclude it was the latest assault by Iran on "freedom-loving nations."

Pompeo offered no evidence for his accusations. He did not allow questions so journalists could challenge his assertions. And his decision not to allow a few days to elapse for a full investigation left no doubt about US intentions.

He left the room after warning the "United States will defend its forces, interests, and stand with our partners and allies to safeguard global commerce and regional stability."

Later on Thursday night, US Central Command released a video that it claims shows a smaller Iranian boat sailing up next to the tanker to remove an unexploded mine. An individual stands up on the bow of the boat and can be seen removing an object from the tanker's hull. The US says that object is likely an unexploded mine.

Pompeo's approach will do nothing to quell anxiety that the United States and Iran are locked into an inexorable cycle of escalation that could trigger a disastrous war.

And after placing the prestige of the Trump administration on the line, he left open the question of Washington's next steps in dealing with a crisis that caused an immediate spike in oil prices and has few obvious off ramps.

US piling pressure on Iran

Thursday's drama in which two ships were left ablaze forcing their crews to abandon their posts, was not an isolated incident. It's a product of rising tensions that Trump administration critics see as the logical result of a hardline approach heralded when the President pulled out of the international nuclear deal concluded by the Obama White House.

Washington insists its new strategy of economic and political pressure on Iran is aimed at driving the Islamic Republic back to the negotiating table. But many US allies fear it is more likely to lead to a military confrontation.

Apart from Pompeo's swift warning to Iran over the attacks and the CENTCOM video, there has not yet been any independent international assessment that blames Iran or its proxies for the attacks -- though suspicion is hanging heavy on the Islamic Republic.

The Trump administration's documented record of perpetrating falsehoods means it inevitably faces a higher bar for its statements on an issue as critical as Iran. Memories are also still fresh of botched intelligence that led the US into war with Iraq.

There are no signs so far that Washington is preparing a military response to the tanker attacks. It is more likely to use them to bolster its case for Iranian malfeasance.

But it has the option to increase naval patrols in the area. Trump has already rushed an aircraft carrier strike force to the region and is deploying 1,500 troops and a Patriot missile system to meet Iran's perceived threat.

The US also called a UN Security Council meeting on the tanker strikes on Thursday but did not present any evidence to back up Pompeo's remarks.

Uncertainty about what is next is also being fueled by indications that Trump is not on the same page as senior members of his national security team on Iran.

The President, loath to get pulled into foreign misadventures, is seen as far less hawkish on the issue than Pompeo and national security adviser John Bolton.

Shortly after Pompeo spelled out his stern-faced warning, which Trump tweeted out, the President was still holding out the hope of eventual talks with Iran.

"I personally feel that it is too soon to even think about making a deal. They are not ready, and neither are we!" Trump tweeted.

Iran will never be ready, if remarks carried by Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei's Twitter feed on Thursday are any indication.

"I don't consider Trump as a person deserving to exchange messages with; I have no response for him & will not answer him," Khamenei wrote.

Fog of war hangs over tanker attacks

The question of who is behind Thursday's attacks may not be quite as clear cut elsewhere as it is in Washington.

The fog of war in the region, with its bitter rivalries, opaque motivations and boiling tensions means that there are a number of conceivable explanations for the strike.

If Iran was involved, it might have been sending a pointed message to the US that it has the capacity to hold the world economy to ransom by attacking shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.

One of the ships involved was a Japanese tanker, in an embarrassment to one of Trump's closest allies, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe who was in Tehran hoping to broker an easing of tensions.

One way of looking at the targeting of a Japanese tanker would be to conclude that someone wants to send Trump a message that his vows to protect US allies are empty.

But if Iran hoped to use Abe's visit to convince Japan to resume buying its oil despite US pressure it would not make much sense for the government to order an attack on a Japanese owned ship.

But decision making in Iran is not monolithic. Even if Iranian forces or proxies were to blame, the action may not have been ordered by political leaders in Tehran, who are locked in a constant power struggle with the ruling clerics.

And Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps has in some cases the autonomy to act outside the auspices of the country's religious or political authorities.

The Middle East's thriving conspiracy theory industry also means there are alternative rationales for the attacks. Might an Iranian foe like Saudi Arabia, keen for a US-Iranian confrontation, not have an interest in staging such an attack to reflect badly on Tehran?

"Reported attacks on Japan-related tankers occurred while PM @AbeShinzo was meeting with Ayatollah @khamenei-ir for extensive and friendly talks," Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif tweeted on Thursday.

"Suspicious doesn't begin to describe what likely transpired this morning."

The tanker attacks came a month after the previous peak in recent tensions, after four commercial ships were attacked in the Gulf, Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen attacked a Saudi pipeline and they US pulled non-essential staff from its embassy in Baghdad -- a potential target for pro-Iran militias in Iraq.

The fact that this attack was more sophisticated and expansive than the previous one is sobering. And will fuel concerns that the US and Iran are on track to recreate the proxy warfare in the Gulf of the 1980s that several times spilled out of control.

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https://www.cnn.com/2019/06/14/politics/us-iran-tankers-diplomacy-warfare-pompeo/index.html

2019-06-14 06:50:00Z
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Iran will get the blame, but the Gulf of Oman truth is likely a lot murkier - CNN

What happened is fairly clear -- two tankers were struck as they sailed through this busy and strategic shipping lane -- but why it happened and who did it is a lot less easy to explain, not least because it doesn't appear to benefit any of the protagonists in the region.

The Japanese owned Kokuka Corageous tanker briefly caught fire when it was twice attacked with "some kind of shell," its owner said. One of its 21-strong Filipino crew was injured.

The crew of the Bermuda-based Front Altair all escaped unharmed when it too was hit by a blast. The Fifth Fleet's USS Bainbridge was nearby and responded to a distress call received at 6.12 am local time and then another 48 minutes later. It picked up 21 sailors from the Kokuka and is getting a wider view of the scene from a P8 Navy surveillance aircraft.

With the rescue operation over, questions have turned to why anyone would do this. That's not as not as straightforward to answer as it looks.

Inevitably, similarities have been drawn between Thursday's attacks and events a month ago, when four ships were targeted near the Emirati port of Furajah. For that, officials in Washington and beyond pointed the finger at Iran.

But Thursday's incident is significantly more blatant. Yet the same officials will doubtless blame Tehran again. If and when that happens, we should remember US National Security Advisor John Bolton promised to present evidence to the UN Security Council backing up those previous claims, but has yet to do so.

Who stands to gain?

The Russians like to ask: "Who did it benefit?" when the unexpected strikes, and this question is useful now.

Iran doesn't appear to have a lot to gain. Say what you like about Tehran's malicious intent, these incidents heighten the global drumbeat for greater isolation and boosts those who seek to apply military pressure on Iran. Its economy is in a bad condition. Before President Donald Trump pulled the US out of the JCPOA (colloquially known as the Iran nuclear deal), Tehran was at its peak of regional influence. With diminished economic resources, its potency is likely to wane.

The incidents also came in the middle of a visit to Tehran by Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, apparently trying to mediate over the nuclear deal (although Tokyo says he's not an envoy for Washington). The apparent attacks eclipsed the Abe visit, an unexpected bit of outreach to Iran by someone Trump calls a friend.

You could make a case for Iranian hardliners staging such an attack to derail peace efforts. But Iran's hardliners -- particularly the Revolutionary Guard -- are normally a little smarter than to bomb international shipping lanes during a crucial diplomatic meeting. Iran's chief moderate, Foreign Minister Javid Zarif, was right to point out that "suspicious doesn't begin to describe what likely transpired this morning." When one party is so easily blamed, it is likely blameless, or unfathomably stupid.

What else? Reuters has reported that Tehran has been scaling up its remaining petrochemical exports ahead of tightening sanctions. Could it be looking to boost the price of oil? Maybe. But at the same time, the shipping of that same oil is going to be disrupted, so they would likely lose out all the same. It is hard to imagine an Iranian hardliner smart enough to pull this sort of apparent attack off, without also realizing they would get immediately collared.

So what about the conspiracy theory, that Saudi Arabia also seeks confrontation and higher oil prices, and would therefore permit such an attack to further its own agenda? An equally obvious explanation, it's tough sell, too. And were such a plot uncovered, the damage to Saudi Arabia's already beleaguered reputation in the Beltway could be terminal.

Some 20% of the world's oil goes through the Strait of Hormuz, and that includes a lot of Saudi exports. You might argue that at $62 a barrel (the price of Brent crude after Thursday's incidents caused a 3% spike), oil is quite cheap and can take more of a knocking. But in the long term it's unlikely the Saudis would want the Gulf's shipping lanes to be regarded as unsafe.

If this gets worse and the US military finds itself dragged into protecting shipping in Hormuz, Riyadh's relationship the Trump administration -- which sought to get out of foreign entanglements rather than get into them -- would be tested.

There are few easy facts here, as there are few easy culprits. But the sense of uncertainty stokes rather than dampens the fears of mismanagement and conflict.

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2019-06-13 15:43:00Z
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Gulf of Oman tanker attacks: everything you need to know - Washington Examiner

The apparent attack on two tankers in the Gulf of Oman on Thursday represents a dramatic escalation in regional and international tensions. Coming just one month and one day after an attack on four other oil tankers in the same area, oil prices have spiked upward in fear of what might happen next.

What's going on here? Blame Iran.

The United Arab Emirates and Saudis might want a United States showdown with Iran but they would not risk jeopardizing the U.S. relationship by conducting a false flag attack. Moreover, the damage to the two tankers in this latest incident is suggestive of a torpedo attack: video shows at least one of the tankers on fire with waterline damage amidships. Iran has an array of means for such an attack, including attack submarines of various sizes, disguised fishing and passenger boats, and military fast boats.

Regardless, this attack fits comfortably with the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps penchant for thinly deniable action. Suffering deep financial losses due to escalating U.S. sanctions, the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps wants to pressure the international community into restraining the Trump administration's maximum pressure strategy. Iran will hope that this attack is sufficiently calibrated to avoid clear evidence of its culpability and thus avoid U.S. retaliation. In that, it is designed as a halfway measure between doing nothing and inviting U.S. retaliation by overtly attempting to shut down the Strait of Hormuz.

But Iran's escalation should not be seen solely through the prism of this attack. Supreme leader Ayatollah Khamenei has made veiled but apparent threats of Iranian resistance to the Trump administration's pressure. And an Iranian-enabled missile attack on Saudi Arabia this week illustrates that the Revolutionary Guards is escalating. This sits squarely within Iran's theocratic penchant for resistance against great odds (look up the Battle of Karbala).

The question is how the U.S. and its allies should respond.

The measure of this aggression will require some kind of significant response. Iran is now actively disrupting international oil markets and free passage of an arterial trade route. That cannot stand. But rightly neither is there much appetite in the U.S. or the region for a war.

I suspect what we will now see is a significantly increased naval presence by the U.S. and its allies to protect transit routes. Iranian forces and fishing vessels (due to the threat of disguised attacks) will likely be warned to keep distance from other vessels or face being sunk. We should expect them to test that warning, and for allied vessels to fire on them in response. Hopefully they will get the message and go back to port.

In terms of naval air-power, the U.S. currently has only an amphibious ready group in the area, so expect one of the carriers now in the Atlantic to be redeployed back to the Gulf.

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2019-06-13 13:48:00Z
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Trump briefed on tanker attacks in the Gulf of Oman - Fox News

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hY5D0fvGcgM

2019-06-13 13:32:04Z
52780313975358

Tanker attacks "highly likely" came from Iran, U.S. official says after vessels struck in Gulf of Oman today - Live updates - CBS News

Dubai, United Arab Emirates -- Two tankers were attacked Thursday near the strategic Strait of Hormuz, leaving one ablaze and adrift as sailors were evacuated from both. It was the second time in a month that tankers have been seriously damaged in the region, and again U.S. officials were quick to point the finger of blame at Iran.

A U.S. defense official told CBS News senior national security correspondent David Martin it was "highly likely Iran caused these attacks" on Thursday. The official dismissed an Iranian claim to have rescued the crews of both vessels in the Gulf of Oman as "patently false." He said the USS Bainbridge picked up 21 crew members.

Iran claimed it dispatched search teams that rescued 44 sailors from the two vessels.

Trending News

The official told Martin he had seen reports that members of one of the tanker crews believed they were hit by a torpedo or a mine, but that he couldn't confirm those reports.

A U.S. official told Martin that American authorities expected to recover sufficient debris from the attacks to be able to trace them back to their source. The official said any retaliation from the U.S. would depend on the evidence found linking the attcks to Iran, and on the attitudes of other Gulf countries. After four tankers were attacked last month Saudi Arabia had no appetite for retaliation.  That has changed.

The Lincoln was making a port call in Oman.  It has gotten underway.  Don't know if it was scheduled to get underway or did so in response to attacks.

U.S. officials pushing back against Iranian claims to have rescued crew members.  According to U.S. officials, the crewmen Iran "rescued" were given no choice about boarding an Iranian vessel.  At last report, they were still in Iranian hands, so fine line between rescued and detained.

"Suspicious timing"

The attacks come amid heightened tension between Washington and Tehran, and the timing is senstitive; it transpired just as the Japanese leader was visiting Iran to try and rekindle diplomacy to ease the standoff. Japan's Trade Ministry said the two vessels struck on Thursday were carrying "Japan-related cargo."

Oil tanker Front Altair on fire in Gulf of Oman on June 13, 2019 Iran's IRIB news agency

Iran's foreign minister described the attacks as beyond suspicious, given the timing with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe meeing in Tehran with Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

"Suspicious doesn't begin to describe what likely transpired this morning," Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said in a tweet. He didn't elaborate.

On Wednesday, after talks with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, Abe had warned that an "accidental conflict" could be sparked amid the heightened U.S.-Iran tensions, which he said must be avoided. His message came just hours after Yemen's Iranian-backed Houthi rebels attacked a Saudi airport, striking the arrivals hall before dawn and wounding 26 people Wednesday.

Tensions have escalated in the Mideast as Iran appears poised to break the 2015 nuclear deal with world powers, an accord the Trump administration first unilaterally backed out of last year.

Khamenei, meanwhile, reiterated his regime's long-standing insistence that it does not seek to obtain nuclear weapons, but he added that "America could not do anything" to stop Iran if it did.

The latest incidents come after the U.S. alleged that Iran used mines to attack four oil tankers off the nearby Emirati port of Fujairah last month. Iran has denied involvement, but it comes as Iranian-backed rebels in Yemen also have launched missile and drone attacks on Saudi Arabia.

Benchmark Brent crude spiked at one point by as much 4% in trading after the reported attack to over $62 a barrel, highlighting how crucial the Strait of Hormuz is to global energy supplies. A third of all oil traded by sea passes through the strait, which is the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf.

The attacks

Cmdr. Joshua Frey, a spokesman for the U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet, said American ships were assisting the two vessels, which he described as being hit in a "reported attack." He did not say how the ships were attacked or who was suspected of being behind the assault.

Gulf of Oman Google Maps

The Norwegian shipping firm Frontline confirmed Thursday that one of its tankers, the Front Altair, was in flames after an incident in the Gulf of Oman, according to Reuters. It cited the Norwegian newspaper VG, which quoted a company spokesman. The spokesman said all 23 crew members were taken onto a nearby vessel.

Dryad Global, a maritime intelligence firm, said the Front Altair was "on fire and adrift."

Reuters also quoted a senior official of Taiwanese state oil refiner CPC Corp as saying the Front Altair, a tanker chartered by CPC to carry fuel from the Middle East, was apparently hit by a torpedo.

Front Altair had been loaded at a port in the Gulf with naptha, a petroleum product, and was on its way to the Far East.

Separately, a spokesman for BSM Ship Management told Reuters one of the vessels it manages, the Kokuka Courageous, was damaged in "a security incident" in the Gulf of Oman on Thursday. He said all 21 crew members abandoned ship and were quickly rescued, adding that the incident damaged the ship's starboard hull.

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

Reuters reported that a shipping broker said there was an explosion "suspected from an outside attack" on the Kokuka Courageous – and it may have involved a magnetic mine. Japanese shipping firm Kokuka Sangyo, the vessel's owner, said it was struck twice in three hours, Reuters added.

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 25 miles off the Iranian coastline.

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https://www.cbsnews.com/news/two-oil-tankers-attacked-in-gulf-of-oman/

2019-06-13 13:17:00Z
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Tanker attacks "highly likely" came from Iran, U.S. official says after vessels struck in Gulf of Oman today - Live updates - CBS News

Dubai, United Arab Emirates -- Two tankers were attacked Thursday near the strategic Strait of Hormuz, leaving one ablaze and adrift as sailors were evacuated from both. It was the second time in a month that tankers have been seriously damaged in the region, and again U.S. officials were quick to point the finger of blame at Iran.

A U.S. defense official told CBS News senior national security correspondent David Martin it was "highly likely Iran caused these attacks" on Thursday. The official dismissed an Iranian claim to have rescued the crews of both vessels in the Gulf of Oman as "patently false." He said the USS Bainbridge picked up 21 crew members.

Iran claimed it dispatched search teams that rescued 44 sailors from the two vessels.

Trending News

The official told Martin he had seen reports that members of one of the tanker crews believed they were hit by a torpedo or a mine, but that he couldn't confirm those reports.

A U.S. official told Martin that American authorities expected to recover sufficient debris from the attacks to be able to trace them back to their source. The official said any retaliation from the U.S. would depend on the evidence found linking the attcks to Iran, and on the attitudes of other Gulf countries. After four tankers were attacked last month Saudi Arabia had no appetite for retaliation.  That has changed.

The Lincoln was making a port call in Oman.  It has gotten underway.  Don't know if it was scheduled to get underway or did so in response to attacks.

U.S. officials pushing back against Iranian claims to have rescued crew members.  According to U.S. officials, the crewmen Iran "rescued" were given no choice about boarding an Iranian vessel.  At last report, they were still in Iranian hands, so fine line between rescued and detained.

"Suspicious timing"

The attacks come amid heightened tension between Washington and Tehran, and the timing is senstitive; it transpired just as the Japanese leader was visiting Iran to try and rekindle diplomacy to ease the standoff. Japan's Trade Ministry said the two vessels struck on Thursday were carrying "Japan-related cargo."

Oil tanker Front Altair on fire in Gulf of Oman on June 13, 2019 Iran's IRIB news agency

Iran's foreign minister described the attacks as beyond suspicious, given the timing with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe meeing in Tehran with Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

"Suspicious doesn't begin to describe what likely transpired this morning," Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said in a tweet. He didn't elaborate.

On Wednesday, after talks with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, Abe had warned that an "accidental conflict" could be sparked amid the heightened U.S.-Iran tensions, which he said must be avoided. His message came just hours after Yemen's Iranian-backed Houthi rebels attacked a Saudi airport, striking the arrivals hall before dawn and wounding 26 people Wednesday.

Tensions have escalated in the Mideast as Iran appears poised to break the 2015 nuclear deal with world powers, an accord the Trump administration first unilaterally backed out of last year.

Khamenei, meanwhile, reiterated his regime's long-standing insistence that it does not seek to obtain nuclear weapons, but he added that "America could not do anything" to stop Iran if it did.

The latest incidents come after the U.S. alleged that Iran used mines to attack four oil tankers off the nearby Emirati port of Fujairah last month. Iran has denied involvement, but it comes as Iranian-backed rebels in Yemen also have launched missile and drone attacks on Saudi Arabia.

Benchmark Brent crude spiked at one point by as much 4% in trading after the reported attack to over $62 a barrel, highlighting how crucial the Strait of Hormuz is to global energy supplies. A third of all oil traded by sea passes through the strait, which is the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf.

The attacks

Cmdr. Joshua Frey, a spokesman for the U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet, said American ships were assisting the two vessels, which he described as being hit in a "reported attack." He did not say how the ships were attacked or who was suspected of being behind the assault.

Gulf of Oman Google Maps

The Norwegian shipping firm Frontline confirmed Thursday that one of its tankers, the Front Altair, was in flames after an incident in the Gulf of Oman, according to Reuters. It cited the Norwegian newspaper VG, which quoted a company spokesman. The spokesman said all 23 crew members were taken onto a nearby vessel.

Dryad Global, a maritime intelligence firm, said the Front Altair was "on fire and adrift."

Reuters also quoted a senior official of Taiwanese state oil refiner CPC Corp as saying the Front Altair, a tanker chartered by CPC to carry fuel from the Middle East, was apparently hit by a torpedo.

Front Altair had been loaded at a port in the Gulf with naptha, a petroleum product, and was on its way to the Far East.

Separately, a spokesman for BSM Ship Management told Reuters one of the vessels it manages, the Kokuka Courageous, was damaged in "a security incident" in the Gulf of Oman on Thursday. He said all 21 crew members abandoned ship and were quickly rescued, adding that the incident damaged the ship's starboard hull.

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

Reuters reported that a shipping broker said there was an explosion "suspected from an outside attack" on the Kokuka Courageous – and it may have involved a magnetic mine. Japanese shipping firm Kokuka Sangyo, the vessel's owner, said it was struck twice in three hours, Reuters added.

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 25 miles off the Iranian coastline.

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2019-06-13 13:12:00Z
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