(Newswire.net — June 15, 2019) — Two oil tanker ships were rocked by explosions in the Gulf of Oman, world media reported.
One is the Front Altair ship of Norwegian owner Frenzel, a vessel that sails under the Marshall Islands flag and the Kokuk boat, hired by the Singapore-based company Bernhard Shulte Ship Management flying the flag of Panama.
One tanker explosion could be an accident but the fact that two tankers exploded on the same location implies that they have been attacked, allegedly with torpedoes.
According to Reuters, the details of the attack are not clear, but the Taiwanese company CPC Korp, which hired the Norwegian tanker, “suspects that it has been hit by a torpedo”.
“A torpedo does make sense,” Alessandro Bruno of Gulf State Analytics said, RT reports. “Some torpedoes can be launched by airplanes at a distance, as well as by submarines. Besides, if the tankers had been attacked from above the sea level –by boats– there would’ve been witnesses,” he suggested, but apparently there aren’t any.
The tanker was attacked not far from the coast of the United Arab Emirates. Information on the assault has not yet been confirmed.
The Front Altair, which has transported 75,000 tons of crude oil, is still burning, according to Norwegian Frontline. Although the Iranian media reported that the tanker has sunk down, the Front Altar denied.
Washington accused Iran of the attack, although it didn’t provide any proof. According to Alessandro Bruno “a number of people could be interested in it, and for a number of reasons.”
Iranian state media said that Iran had just saved 44 crew members after an “accident” and that they were transferred to the Iranian island of Jask which is located 20 kilometers off the coast of Oman.
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohamed Javad Zarif, also expressed doubts about the circumstances of the attack: “It’s not a good word for what’s probably happened this morning,” Zarif said.
It is interesting that Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has just visited Iran, where he met with the top Iranian leader. Japan is the country that suffered the most collateral damage because of the economic sanctions on Teheran.
“Japan’s interest in continuing to purchase oil from Iran and solving financial issues…can secure the expansion of our relations,” Mr. Rouhani told reporters following the meeting.
The sabotage of oil tankers in the Gulf of Oman and drone attacks on Saudi oil facilities worries Tokyo of the possibility of a full-blown military confrontation between Iran and the U.S.