Japanese oil tanker 'was in a collision'
Source: Agencies |
July 30, 2010, Friday
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Print Edition
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A JAPANESE supertanker, which triggered fears of an attack in the sensitive Strait of Hormuz oil shipping route, collided with something, possibly a submarine or mine, United Arab Emirates port officials inspecting the ship said yesterday.
Damage to the massive crude carrier's hull suggested a collision, although the nature of Wednesday's incident was under investigation.
"What we know is some collision happened. We don't know what it was," said Captain Mousa Mourad, a general manager at the UAE port of Fujairah. "It's possible that it could be a submarine collision, or that it could be a sea mine."
A reporter taken to see the damaged vessel, the M.Star, moored off Fujairah, said there was a very large, square dent and puncture marks on one side of the hull.
Photographs released by the UAE's WAM news agency yesterday also showed a lifeboat missing and smashed windows and doors.
The incident took place near the Strait of Hormuz, gateway to the oil-producing Gulf, bordered by Iran and several hundred kilometers north of where Somali pirates have hijacked supertankers over the last two years, including a South Korean tanker bound for the United States in April.
No oil leaked from the supertanker and the Strait remains open, with normal traffic flow, officials said.
Mitsui OSK Lines Ltd, owner of the world's second largest oil tanker fleet, said yesterday it had hired a Dubai-based specialist on military attacks to help investigate damage to the 333-meter supertanker laden with oil for Japan.
Damage to the massive crude carrier's hull suggested a collision, although the nature of Wednesday's incident was under investigation.
"What we know is some collision happened. We don't know what it was," said Captain Mousa Mourad, a general manager at the UAE port of Fujairah. "It's possible that it could be a submarine collision, or that it could be a sea mine."
A reporter taken to see the damaged vessel, the M.Star, moored off Fujairah, said there was a very large, square dent and puncture marks on one side of the hull.
Photographs released by the UAE's WAM news agency yesterday also showed a lifeboat missing and smashed windows and doors.
The incident took place near the Strait of Hormuz, gateway to the oil-producing Gulf, bordered by Iran and several hundred kilometers north of where Somali pirates have hijacked supertankers over the last two years, including a South Korean tanker bound for the United States in April.
No oil leaked from the supertanker and the Strait remains open, with normal traffic flow, officials said.
Mitsui OSK Lines Ltd, owner of the world's second largest oil tanker fleet, said yesterday it had hired a Dubai-based specialist on military attacks to help investigate damage to the 333-meter supertanker laden with oil for Japan.
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