Dozens of crew members have been rescued after abandoning two oil tankers hit by explosions in the Gulf of Oman.
Iran said it had rescued the 21 crew members on board the Kokuka Courageous and the 23 on the Front Altair.
The cause of the explosions in one of the world’s busiest oil routes remains unclear and both vessels are still afloat.
The incident comes a month after four oil tankers were attacked off the UAE.What do we know about the explosions?
The cause has not been confirmed.
The Norwegian-owned Front Altair had been “attacked”, the Norwegian Maritime Authority said, leading to three explosions on board.
Wu I-fang, a spokesman for Taiwan’s state oil refiner CPC Corp, which chartered the Front Altair, said it was carrying 75,000 tonnes of naphtha and was “suspected of being hit by a torpedo”, although this has not been confirmed. Other unverified reports suggested a mine attack.
The operator of the Panama-flagged Kokuka Courageous, BSM Ship Management, said its crew abandoned ship and were rescued by a passing vessel.
The tanker was carrying methanol and was not in danger of sinking, a spokesman said.
It is currently located about 80 miles from Fujairah in the UAE and 16 miles from Iran. The cargo remains intact.
This is the second serious incident in a month involving tanker shipping close to the strategic Strait of Hormuz, through which at least one-fifth of the world’s oil passes.
In May, four tankers were hit by explosive devices close to a port in the United Arab Emirates. A report presented jointly by the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Norway last week to the UN Security Council concluded they had been placed there by frogmen, but did not assign blame to any country.
But in that incident the damage was minor, there were no fires and no-one was evacuated. This is far more serious.
Both of the stricken Norwegian and Japanese-owned tankers on Thursday were under way and moving out of the Gulf of Oman, prompting questions as to what could have caused so much damage that the crew needed evacuating. Iran has said it is suspicious this incident took place just as it was hosting Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
Who came to the rescue?
Iranian state media said Iran had rescued the crew members and they had been taken to the port of Jask
