City
Epaper

2 oil tankers hit in Gulf of Oman, all crew evacuated

By IANS | Updated: June 13, 2019 16:10 IST

Two oil tankers were hit in a suspected attack in the Gulf of Oman on Thursday and all crew members onborad were evacuated, the media reported.

Open in App

The tankers were struck in the same area where the US accused Iran of using naval mines to sabotage four other oil ships in an attack last month, reports say.

The Iranian media said the two tankers departed from the port of Abu Dhabi, capital of the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The ports of Pakistan and Oman both received the distress calls from the oil tankers, Xinhua news agency reported.

One of the ships was a Norwegian-owned Front Altair. The Norwegian shipping company Frontline confirmed that its oil tanker was on fire after an incident in the Gulf of Oman, Norwegian newspaper VG reported.

The ship, which was built in 2016, had set sail from the Emirati port of Ruwais late on Tuesday and was set to arrive at the Taiwanese port of Kaohsiung on June 30. It is believed that the vessel had been loaded with oil in Abu Dhabi before setting off on its journey, the National daily reported.

The second vessel was identified as the Panama-flagged Kokuka Courageous.

There was no official confirmation of how the vessels were attacked or who was responsible.

The Iranian Navy rescued 44 crew members from the two tankers after the "accident" in the Sea of Oman on Thursday, official IRNA news agency reported.

The rescuers of Iran's coastal province of Hormozgan found the crews and took them to Jask, a city of Hormozgan, IRNA quoted a source as saying.

The US 5th Fleet nearby assisted the evacuation of the crew, Al Arabiya said.

The incident comes amid the rising tension between the US and Iran. Washington withdrew from the Iranian international nuclear deal in mid-2018 and re-imposed full sanctions on Iran's oil exports.

Last month, four commercial vessels suffered similar acts of sabotage near the UAE waters.

( With inputs from IANS )

Tags: HormozganFrontlineIranian Navy
Open in App

Related Stories

Other SportsGlobal Chess League a huge step towards creating a better environment for chess players, says Iran's Sara Khadem

PoliticsIran to ensure "maximum security" for Azerbaijani embassy after armed attack

InternationalIraq loses 5,000 MW of electricity as Iran reduces gas supplies

InternationalIran executes two men for attack on Shah Cheragh shrine in Shiraz

InternationalTwo men executed in Iran over 2022 shrine attack

International Realted Stories

InternationalPoland advances plan for first nuclear power plant

InternationalDeath toll from Iran's port blast reaches 65

InternationalPresident Murmu confers Padma Shri for Literature to American author Stephen Knapp

InternationalPresident Murmu presents Padma Shri to Kuwaiti Yoga enthusiast

InternationalUAE President, Australian Governor-General discuss bilateral relations