A tanker near Saudi Arabia’s port city of Jeddah was attacked by unknown “external sources”, causing fires and explosions, according to Havnia, a Singapore-based shipping company.
According to a report by Al Jazeera on the 14th, Hafnia, the shipping company of the tanker, said in a statement issued on the same day that at about 0:40 local time on December 14, the tanker “Rhine” encountered an unknown ” “Outside Attack”, the hull exploded and then caught fire.
It is reported that there were 22 crew members on board at the time of the explosion, and all of them are now safe. Although part of the ship’s hull was damaged, the crew had put out the fire.
Havnia said: “It is possible that some oil has leaked from the ship, but this has not been confirmed.
According to current instruments, the oil storage on the ship is the same as before the accident.” It is reported that on December 6, the Rhine loaded about 60,000 tons of gasoline from the port of Yambu, Saudi Arabia. Based on the draft, the tanker is currently fully loaded at 84%.
According to the report, the explosion suspended the operation of a major oil trading port and distribution center in Saudi Arabia, and the country did not respond immediately after the explosion.
It is reported that the British Maritime Trade Action Organization has urged ships in the sea to be vigilant and said that the investigation into the incident is still ongoing.
It is reported that there have been many attacks on tankers and cargo ships in the waters near Saudi Arabia. On November 25, an oil tanker exploded while mooring in a Saudi port, causing damage.
The Saudi government accused the Houthis in Yemen of launching a mine attack, which Yemeni did not comment. Earlier this month, a cargo ship named Hassan was attacked in the waters off Yemen. Fortunately, there were no casualties on board.
