A tanker has suffered a ‘large explosion’ on its side, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) Centre has said, with oil seen gushing from the ship and into the waters of the Persian Gulf, off the coast of Kuwait.
As per the UKMTO, reports were received late on Wednesday (March 4) of an incident south-east of Mubarak Al Kabeer, Kuwait.
“The Master of a tanker at anchor, reports witnessing and hearing a large explosion on the port side then seeing a small craft leave the vicinity,” the UKMTO statement said.
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“There is oil in the water coming from a cargo tank”, it continued, adding the vessel “has taken on water”. The oil-slicked water is not on fire, and the crew is all accounted for.
As for the marine environment, the oil spill is likely to cause “some environmental impact”. Authorities are investigating, UKMTO added.
Vessels within the vicinity “are advised to transit with caution and report any suspicious activity to UKMTO”.
The update comes in the wake of a string of incidents in the Persian Gulf and surrounding waters, namely the strategic Strait of Hormuz.
UKMTO also reported a tanker off the coast of the United Arab Emirates by “debris from an unknown projectile” on Wednesday, 10 nautical miles east of Fujairah.
UKMTO said: “The tanker experienced a loud blast and debris from an unknown projectile was found on the deck. The funnel of the tanker sustained minor damage but no major damage has been observed.”
The maritime agency added that all crew were safe and accounted for.
On Sunday, UKMTO reported that another vessel was struck by an unknown projectile 50 nautical miles north of Oman’s capital, Muscat. The attack resulted in a fire in the vessel’s engine room that was quickly brought under control.
It is the second incident the UK maritime reported on Sunday, with an earlier incident also taking place on Sunday off Oman’s Kumzar village in the Strait of Hormuz.
Iranian state television said Sunday that an oil tanker was sinking after it was struck while attempting to pass through the strategic Strait of Hormuz.
