FOUR SHIPS ‘SABOTAGED’ OFF THE COAST OF THE UAE
Saudi Arabia said Monday two of its oil tankers were sabotaged off the coast of the United Arab Emirates in attacks that caused ‘significant damage’ to the vessels. One of them was en route to pick up Saudi oil destined for the U.S. In his statement, al-falih said the attacks on the two tankers happened at 6 a.m. Sunday.
‘One of the two vessels was on its way to be loaded with Saudi crude oil from the port of Ras Tanura, to be delivered to Saudi Aramco’s customers in the United States,’ al-falih said.‘ fortunately, the attack didn’t lead to any casualties or oil spill; however, it caused significant damage to the structures of the two vessels.’
Saudi Arabia did not identify the vessels involved, nor did it say whom it suspected of carrying out the alleged sabotage.
Underling the regional risk, the generalsecretary of the six-nation Gulf Co-operation Council described the alleged sabotage as a ‘serious escalation’ in an overnight statement.
A statement Sunday from the UAE’S Foreign Ministry put the ships near the country’s territorial waters in the Gulf of Oman, east of the port of Fujairah. It said it was investigating ‘in cooperation with local and international bodies.’ It said there were ‘no injuries or fatalities on board the vessels’ and ‘no spillage of harmful chemicals or fuel.’
(DAILY MAIL), 13 MAY 2019