Two oil tankers were hit in suspected attacks in the Gulf of Oman and the crews have been evacuated, according to sources on Jun 13, 2019. AFP
The crews of two oil tankers were evacuated on Thursday after sending out distress calls following a new incident in the Gulf of Oman that sent world oil prices soaring.
The incident, the second involving shipping in the strategic sea lane in only a few weeks, came amid spiralling tensions between Tehran and Washington, which has pointed the finger at Iran over a first incident in May.
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Iran said two oil tankers had been involved on Thursday in an “accident” and its navy had rescued 44 crew.
The US Fifth Fleet said: “We are aware of the reported attack on tankers in the Gulf of Oman.
“US naval forces in the region received two separate distress calls at 6:12am local time and a second one at 7am,” the statement said.
Oil prices spiked after a merchant shipping information service run by Britain’s Royal Navy reported an “incident” in the Gulf of Oman.
“UK and its partners are currently investigating,” United Kingdom Marine Trade Operations (UKMTO) said on its website, without giving further details.
The Gulf of Oman lies at the other end of the strategic Strait of Hormuz from the Gulf, part of a vital shipping lane through which at least 15 million barrels of crude oil and hundreds of millions of dollars of non-oil imports pass.
S&P-Platts news agency cited multiple shipping sources in Asia as saying one of the tankers, the Front Altair, built in 2016 and flagged in the Marshall Islands, caught fire near the Gulf of Oman, prompting the evacuation of its crew.
It said that brokers, chartering sources and a shipping agent confirmed that at least two tankers had been damaged.
On May 12, four oil tankers – two Saudi, one Norwegian and one Emirati – were damaged in still unexplained attacks in the Gulf of Oman off the United Arab Emirates.
The US said Iranian naval mines were “almost certainly” behind the attack.
The UAE said last week that initial findings of a five-nation investigation delivered to the UN pointed to the likelihood that a state was behind the bombings, but added there was no evidence yet that Iran was involved.
Thursday’s incident came after Iran-aligned Huthi rebels on Wednesday said they had fired a missile at a Saudi airport. Saudi officials said 26 people were wounded in the attack on Ahba airport.
