DUBAI: Two separate explosions hit an Iranian oil tanker on Friday, which set the ship on fire, Iran’s ISNA news agency has reported.
The vessel is owned by Iran’s state-owned National Iranian Oil Co. (NIOC), who identified the tanker as the Sabiti. No casualties were reported in the incident.
The company also denied media reports citing it as saying missiles hit the oil tanker.
The Russian foreign ministry also said it was too early to say who is to blame for explosion.
The explosion caused heavy damage to two storerooms aboard the ship and oil was spilling in the Red Sea, state television said.
Iranian media agency IRNA later reported that “the leak of oil has stopped and the situation is under control”.
Tehran said on that Sabiti was still in the Red Sea, “but its route will change,” according to an official from the National Iranian Tanker Company.
“None of the crew members were injured at the explosion ... the situation is under control,” ISNA reported.
The US Navy’s Fifth Fleet is aware of media reports on the vessel, but said it does not have any further information, a spokesman said on Friday.
Oil prices surged more than two percent in response to the incident.
Sabiti turned on its tracking devices late Friday morning in the Red Sea, according to data from MarineTraffic.com.
The vessel last turned on its tracking devices in August near the Iranian port city of Bandar Abbas. Iranian tankers routinely turn off their trackers as US sanctions target the sale of Iran’s crude oil.
Explosions hit Iranian tanker, Red Sea oil leak ‘under control’
Explosions hit Iranian tanker, Red Sea oil leak ‘under control’
- None of the crew members were injured
- The tanker turned its tracking devices on Friday morning for the first time since August
Iran missile barrage sparks explosions over Tel Aviv
- Two near-simultaneous waves of explosions reverberating across the city
- Israel’s emergency services confirms plenty of damage but said there were no casualties
TEL AVIV: The latest Iranian missile barrage sparked a wave of explosions across Tel Aviv as firefighters worked to contain a blaze at a residential building near Israel’s commercial hub on Friday.
The blasts came after Israel expanded its campaign against Hezbollah, vowing retribution against the Tehran-backed militant group for joining the conflict following the killing on Saturday of Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Iran’s state broadcaster said Tehran had fired missiles “against targets in the heart of Tel Aviv,” after Israel’s military said it was working to intercept incoming Iranian fire late Thursday.
AFP journalists in Tel Aviv heard two near-simultaneous waves of explosions reverberating across the city.
Rocket trails also lit up the sky in Netanya, a city north of Tel Aviv on Israel’s Mediterranean coast.
After the barrage, Israel’s emergency services, the Magen David Adom (MDA), said its teams had visited several reported impact sites but that there were no casualties.
Israeli police said it was “currently handling scenes involving fallen projectiles in central Israel,” adding that there was “damage” but no injuries.
A projectile hit a building on the outskirts of Tel Aviv, forcing residents to evacuate.
At another residential site near Israel’s economic hub, firefighters worked to put out a blaze caused by falling debris after an Iranian rocket fire was intercepted.
Israel’s Home Front Command issues several rocket fire warnings early Friday for communities near the Lebanon border.
