Saudi-led coalition says vessel suffered minor damage from shrapnel in what it described as a foiled terror attack, Al-Arabiya reports. The Saudi-led coalition fighting the Houthis in Yemen says a commercial vessel has suffered minor damage from shrapnel in what it described as a foiled terror attack, Al-Arabiya reported.
The blast on Wednesday hit the MT Agrari, a Maltese-flagged, Greek-managed vessel off the coast of Shuqaiq, Saudi Arabia, just north of the Yemeni border, damaging its hull. A statement from the Agrari’s operators, quoted by The Associated Press news agency, said the tanker “was attacked by an unknown source”.
“The Agrari was struck about 1 metre above the waterline and has suffered a breach. It has been confirmed that the crew are safe and there have been no injuries.”
The ship was still floating off the coast and had been boarded by Saudi officials, the company said. Saudi Arabia did not immediately acknowledge the incident.
Ambrey, a British security firm, reported the blast and attributed it to a mine.
It said the Agrari had cargo from Rotterdam, Netherlands and that it had discharged at the Shuqaiq Steam Power Plant.
“LR2/Aframax tanker AGRARI was impacted by a mine having berthed at one of the Al Shuqaiq Steam Power Plant (SSPP) jetties in Saudi Arabia,” Ambrey’s report said.
“The explosion took place in port limits and punctured the hull of the vessel, which is in ballast,” it added. It did not say when the incident happened but noted the vessel had arrived at Al Shuqaiq on November 23.
The Agrari is a smaller aframax crude oil tanker, data on TMS Tankers website showed.
The Saudi-led coalition said the “terrorist acts” of Houthi militias with Iranian support threaten international shipping and trade, Al Arabiya reported.
The Red Sea is a vital shipping lane for both cargo and the world’s energy supplies.
The explosion came after a cruise missile fired by Yemen’s Houthi rebels struck an oil facility in Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea city of Jeddah on Monday.
Two weeks ago a fire near a floating platform belonging to the Jazan oil products terminal was contained with no injuries.
That fire was the result of another attempted Houthi attack, in which a Saudi-led coalition fighting the Houthis in Yemen intercepted and destroyed two explosive-laden boats in the southern Red Sea.
A Saudi Arabia-led military coalition has been battling the Houthis since March 2015. Houthi military officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The US Navy’s 5th Fleet, responsible for patrolling the waterways of the Mideast, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Source: News Agencies