E-Paper
Oil tanker hit by Iran? Videos show vessel on fire in Persian Gulf
Videos surfaced online allegedly showing an oil tanker in the Persian Gulf that had come under attack from Iran.
An oil tanker in the Persian Gulf was reportedly attacked by Iran and caught fire on Wednesday, as per Turkey's state-run Anadolu Agency. Alleged videos of the incident were shared on social media widely.
Anadolu Agency also shared the clip on Instagram. “Foreign oil tanker catches fire in territorial waters near Basra, Iraq, after attack near Umm Qasr port in Persian Gulf,” they wrote.
The clip showed a blaze from a distance before closing in to show a vessel engulfed in flames.
Videos of the ship on fire were also shared on X. “Massive fire breaks out on oil tanker in Persian Gulf following reported attack,” a page wrote, sharing the clip.
HT.com could not independently verify the report or the clips.
A fireball could be seen going up in the sky, in the video. This comes amid the ongoing war between Iran and the US and Israel after the two jointly launched strikes which claimed the life of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei.
Iran using sea drones to attack oil tankers: Report
Iran is reportedly using naval drones to attack oil tankers, at least in the last two instances, as per Reuters.
These have been used with great effect by Ukraine in the war against Russia. These devices are explosive laden and Iran is resorting to them at a time when they've threatened to block oil shipments from passing through the Strait of Hormuz, a chokepoint for one-fifth of the world's oil.
Also Read | Attacks on ships, tankers in Strait of Hormuz continue as US-Iran war rages on | Full list
The first sea-based drone attack was carried out by Iran on March 1, on MKD VYOM, a crude oil tanker. It was hit about 44 nautical miles off Oman, killing one crew member. The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) agency then said in a public advisory that an unmanned surface vessel had struck the Marshall Islands-flagged tanker just above the waterline, which set off an explosion and fire in the engine room.
Again, a small vessel struck the Bahamas-flagged crude oil tanker Sonangol Namibe, which was anchored near Iraq’s Khor al Zubair port, as per to U.S. representative company Sonangol Marine Services. However, they said the matter was under investigation and didn't confirm a drone attack, Reuters reported.
An India-bound Thai vessel, Mayuree Naree, was also struck by ‘two projectiles of unknown origin’ while sailing through the Strait of Hormuz, drawing a sharp response from the Ministry of External Affairs. The MEA statement read “India deplores the fact that commercial shipping is being made a target of military attacks in the ongoing conflict in West Asia. Precious lives, including of Indian citizens, have already been lost in multiple such attacks in the earlier phase of this conflict, and the intensity and lethality of the attacks only seems to be increasing.”
Meanwhile, President Donald Trump and the US military have spoken about destroying mine-laying ships of the Iranian navy, so as to prevent them from planting mines in the Strait of Hormuz.
