Posted on 06/13/2019 12:49:44 AM PDT by tired&retired
Two tankers have been targeted this morning while transiting waters near to Fujairah. Frontline’s fully laden LR 2Front Altair was hit by surface attacks, and an enormous fire ensued forcing the crew to abandon ship. The crew were safely picked up by nearby general cargoship, Hyundai Dubai. Bernhard Schulte’s chemical tanker Kokuka Courageous was also hit.
Bernhard Schulte’s chemical tanker Kokuka Courageous was also hit by torpedoes this morning, one month and one day from the moment four other tankers were damaged by limpet mines off Fujairah (pictured). The ship disappeared from several ship tracking sites for a period of time today but is now back on the MarineTraffic site, with a ‘Stopped’ status.
“The hull has been breached above the water line on the starboard side,” Bernhard Schulte said in a statement on its website. “All crew are reported safe and only one minor injury reported.”
The two targeted ships are lying approximately 50 km apart in Iranian waters east of Fujairah.
“ The UK and its partners are currently investigating,” UK Maritime Trade Operations said on its website this morning, warning all vessels in the region to exercise extreme caution. The attacks have also been confirmed today by the US Navy’s Fifth Fleet.
https://splash247.com/tankers-torpedoed-in-the-middle-east/
I hope Operation Praying Mantis II is unfolding. The original:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Praying_Mantis
By Saturday, they will have identified the Iran sub responsible and target it. Then some 30-day ‘time-out’ will probably occur where any Iran military vessel will be restricted to Iranian waters or be fired upon. This will trigger Middle Eastern oil to jump 20-percent in price. Russian and US oil will probably be the cheapest oil around for the next month or two.
Emirati officials declined to immediately comment. The coordinates offered for the incident by the U.K. group put it some 45 kilometers (25 miles) off the Iranian coastline.
Benchmark Brent crude, apparently reacting to the incident, rose in early trading Thursday to over $61, a 2.3% increase.
The timing was especially sensitive as Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was visiting Iran on a high-stakes diplomacy mission. On Wednesday, after talks with Iranian President Hassan Rohani, Abe warned that any “accidental conflict” that could be sparked amid the heightened U.S.-Iran tensions must be avoided.
Thursday’s maritime alert comes after what the U.S. has described as Iranian attacks on four oil tankers nearby, off the coast of the United Arab Emirates. Iran has denied being involved.
On May 12, four oil tankers were sabotaged off the coast of the United Arab Emirates. The attacks targeted two Saudi tankers, an Emirati vessel and a Norwegian tanker, causing no casualties but fueling tensions between the United States and Iran during weeks of escalating rhetoric.
Last week, the UAE told United Nations Security Council members that attacks on four tankers off its coast bore the hallmarks of a “sophisticated and coordinated operation,” most likely by a state actor.
Not US ships, not our problem. That said, hopefully the flagged countries will take steps to destroy all assets of the Iranian navy. Slap them hard.
I swear I saw this picture months ago.
Just refreshed my memory by reading the article at the link...
Best part
By the end of the operation, U.S. air and surface units had sunk, or severely damaged, half of Iran’s operational fleet.
I see no evidence of fire.
The one ship is on fire. There were pictures at the other link provided.
The one ship is on fire. There were pictures at the other link provided.
https://splash247.com/tankers-torpedoed-in-the-middle-east/
I aint there so I trust nothing in the news.
Prayers for those upon the seas.
According to shipping newspaper Tradewinds, Frontline’s oil tanker had been “torpedoed” off the coast of the Emirate of Fujairah.
Taiwan’S energy firm CPC said it had suspicions that Front Altair, which was carrying 75,000 tonnes of naphtha, was hit by an unknown onject.
Meanwhile, shipping company Bernhard Schulte said that its oil tanker Kokuka Courageous was also damaged in the incident. Kokuka was sailing from Saudi Arabia to Singapore with a cargo of methanol.
“The hull has been breached above the water line on the starboard side,” the company said in a statement. “All crew are reported safe and only one minor injury reported.”
Iran has saved 44 sailors from the tankers and took them to its territory, according to the state-run IRNA news agency.
[Just refreshed my memory by reading the article at the link...
Best part
By the end of the operation, U.S. air and surface units had sunk, or severely damaged, half of Iran’s operational fleet.]
I am sure the Iranians are feeding the sailors pistachios and honey at this very moment /s
No one knows who is responsible. It could be a false flag operation. Iran might not be responsible; there are more than enough belligerents to go around in that region, and a lot of players who would benefit from a rise in oil prices.
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