Blast-hit tanker anchors off UAE
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A Japanese tanker, attacked in the Gulf in an incident that sparked a new standoff between Washington and Tehran, 鈥渁rrived safely鈥 yesterday at an anchorage off the UAE, its management said.
The Kokuka Courageous was carrying highly flammable methanol through the Gulf of Oman on Thursday when it and the Norwegian-operated Front Altair were rocked by explosions.
鈥淜okuka Courageous has arrived safely at the designated anchorage at Sharjah,鈥 an emirate neighboring Dubai, the vessel鈥檚 Singapore-based BSM Ship Management said yesterday.
The crew, who remained on board, were 鈥渟afe and well,鈥 it said, adding that a damage assessment and transferring the ship鈥檚 cargo would start 鈥渙nce the port authorities have completed their standard security checks and formalities.鈥
BSM Ship Management had said earlier Kokuka Courageous was heading toward an anchorage on the eastern coast of the United Arab Emirates, facing the Gulf of Oman.
The other ship, the Front Altair, has left Iran鈥檚 territorial waters, multiple sources said on Saturday. It was 鈥渉eading toward the Fujairah-Khor Fakkan area in the United Arab Emirates,鈥 the port鈥檚 chief of Iran鈥檚 southern province of Hormozgan said.
A spokeswoman for Frontline Management, the Norwegian company which owns the ship, said 鈥渁ll 23 crew members of the tanker departed Iran鈥 and flew to Dubai on Saturday.
The US military on Friday released grainy footage it said showed an Iranian patrol boat removing an 鈥渦nexploded limpet mine鈥 from the Japanese vessel. Tehran has vehemently denied any involvement.
Iran鈥檚 Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif dismissed the US claim as 鈥渂aseless鈥 and said Washington had 鈥渋mmediately jumped to make allegations against Iran 鈥 (without) a shred of factual or circumstantial evidence.鈥
Iran鈥檚 parliament speaker Ali Larijani hinted yesterday that Washington could be behind the 鈥渟uspicious鈥 tanker attacks in the Gulf of Oman to pile pressure on Tehran.
鈥淭he suspicious actions against the tankers ... seem to complement the economic sanctions against Iran considering that (the US) has not achieved any results from them,鈥 he told MPs.
He backed his claim by saying there had been a precedent 鈥渄uring World War II, when Americans targeted their own ships near Japan to create an excuse for hostility.鈥
A non-belligerent state at the beginning of World War II, the US went to war after Japan鈥檚 surprise attack on the American Pearl Harbor base in Hawaii on the morning of December 7, 1941.
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