ABU DHABI (The Thursday Times) — A vessel operated by ADNOC Logistics & Services was damaged in an attack inside the UAE’s territorial waters in the Gulf on Tuesday afternoon, the company said, as at least two more tankers were hit in and around the Strait of Hormuz within a day.
In a statement, the shipping arm of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company said response efforts were ongoing and that further updates would follow. It did not name the vessel, describe the damage or say whether any crew were hurt, and it urged the public to rely only on official sources and not to spread rumours.
ADNOC’s fleet has been hit repeatedly since the war began on February 28. In August the company said 15 of its vessels had been attacked by missiles and drones while crossing the Strait of Hormuz, killing one person and injuring 20 crew members, and it reported further attacks on August 8, 13 and 14.
More tankers hit
Late on Tuesday the UK Maritime Trade Operations centre said a tanker had been struck by an unidentified projectile about 19 nautical miles north-east of Limah in Oman, near the strait. The master reported that the crew were safe and there was no environmental damage. On Wednesday Iran’s army said an oil tanker had caught fire in the eastern part of the strait after hitting a naval mine in a “restricted area”.
A Liberia-flagged oil tanker bound for Dubai was also hit by a projectile in the Gulf on Tuesday, injuring four crew members including an Indian national, India’s shipping minister Sarbananda Sonowal said. The other 18 crew, five of them Indian, were safe.
Pressure on Gulf exports
The attacks follow a strike on the Qatari gas carrier Al Maayeda, which its owner Nakilat said was hit by unidentified objects in the Gulf on October 30, without injuries. Last month the supertanker Gem No. 2 was struck by a projectile off the UAE coast and leaked oil that reached the shores of Umm Al Quwain, Ras Al Khaimah, Ajman and Sharjah. The UAE is now offering to sell up to 1.87 million barrels of Saudi crude recovered from the ship.
The Strait of Hormuz has been largely closed since the United States and Israel attacked Iran on February 28. The UAE can export crude through Fujairah, which lies outside the strait, while Saudi Arabia relies on its East-West pipeline to terminals on the Red Sea.
