Mohammed Bin Salman, Saudi’s crown prince, has blamed the country’s arch-rival Iran for the attacks on oil tankers in the Gulf of Oman. Two oil tankers were damaged by the explosion last week Thursday. This is the second tanker attack in one month, and it has raised escalating tension between the United Kingdom and Iran.
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What happened last Thursday?
The ‘Front Altair’ with Marshall Island flag and ‘Kokuka Courageous’ with Panama flag, both accelerating south-eastwards through international waterways got damaged by the explosion after passing the Strait of Hormuz. Front Altair called the US Navy and shared that it had been attacked at 03:12 (UTC) precisely thirty-five kilometers south of Iran’s coast. AThe second tanker, Kokuka Courageous got damaged at 04:00 (UTC) which was in 21 nautical miles of Iran. There is no obvious way for Iran to deny the attacks.
Front Altair:
The tanker set off from the United Arab Emirates, heading to Taiwan and carrying 75000 tonnes of naphtha. The owner -Frontline, a Norwegian company, declared that an explosion has taken place on the vessel and triggered a fire. Hyundai Dubai, a cargo ship rescued 23 membered crew on board with no casualties recorded. These crew members were carried to the Jask port in an Iranian naval vessel.
In regards to this, Frontline has said that the fire was doused within a few hours by the emergency responders and no marine pollution is reported yet. From the published videos and images by the Iranian media, a massive cloud of black smoke was seen hovering over the Front Altair.
Iceye, a satellite imaging company has said that according to their data, “a non-trivial amount of oil surrounded the vessel on the surface of the sea.” According to Frontline, the cause of the explosion is unknown yet, but mechanical or human errors are not the reason, they stated clearly.
CPC Corp., Taiwan’s state oil refiner, has said initially that Front Altair is “suspected of being hit by a torpedo.” Front Altair master also said the same thing.
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Kokuka Courageous:
In Kokuka courageous, 21 crew members get evacuated by Dutch tug Coastal Ace as a precaution. After some time, they were transferred to USS Bainbridge. One crew member is injured slightly and got the first aid on board the Bainbridge. Later they returned to Kokuka Courageous and turned up the emergency power. This tanker reached the UAE Kalba port safely on Sunday. After due security checks, damage assessment and transfer preparation will commence soon. Statements made by crew members confirmed the attack as they said that they noticed something flying in as the tanker got hit, to cause a hole on the ship. Some crew members also claimed to have witnessed the second shot.
For these attacks, Saudi Arabia prince Mohammed Bin Salman has blamed its rival Iran. Along with this, he has also said, “we do not want a war in the region… but we won’t hesitate to deal with any threat to our people, our sovereignty, our territorial integrity, and our vital interests” (Pan-Arab daily newspaper).
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