Oil tanker hit in Iraqi waters, as vessels get caught in US-Iran attacks
Drone view of oil tanker HELGA berthed at one of Iraq's southern offshore oil terminals near Basra, as it prepares to load crude oil, becoming the second vessel to arrive since the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. Reuters-Yonhap
A tanker carrying about 2 million barrels of Iraqi fuel oil was struck by a drone in Iraqi territorial waters on Wednesday, port officials said, and British navy-affiliated UKMTO reported that several merchant vessels in the Gulf had been hit by disabling fire overnight.
A fire broke out aboard the Panama-flagged oil tanker New Andros after it was hit in Iraqi waters at around 6 a.m. on Wednesday, two Iraqi port officials told Reuters.
There were no reports of casualties among the 22 crew members, the officials added.
The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations agency had said earlier that vessels in the northern Gulf and Gulf of Oman were hit by disabling fire during military activity in the region overnight.
It added that it was unable to confirm any casualties or environmental impact.
Separately, UKMTO reported another incident on Wednesday, 24 nautical miles from Port Rashid, in the United Arab Emirates. It said a vessel was sighted listing while at anchor, possibly indicating it had taken on water following an attack by an unknown projectile.
Iran said on Wednesday it had attacked 10 ships near the Strait of Hormuz after the U.S. sank five Iranian oil tankers, in the biggest declared wave of tit-for-tat attacks on shipping by both sides since the start of the six-month-old war.