RIYADH: A major oil port and Aramco residential area were attacked with a drone and ballistic missile in eastern Saudi Arabia on Sunday.
A “petroleum tank farm” at Ras Tanura Port, one of the largest oil shipping ports in the world, was attacked with a drone in the morning, the energy ministry said. The drone was coming from the direction of the sea.
In the evening, shrapnel from a ballistic missile fell near Saudi Aramco’s residential area in Dhahran where thousands of the company’s local and international employees and their families live.
No one was injured and no property damaged in either attack.
“The Kingdom condemns and criminalizes such repeated acts of sabotage and hostility,” a ministry spokesman said. “The Kingdom calls on nations and organizations of the world to stand together against these attacks, which are aimed at civilian objects and vital installations.
“Such acts of sabotage do not only target the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, but also the security and stability of energy supplies to the world, and therefore, the global economy. They affect the security of petroleum exports, freedom of world trade, and maritime traffic.”
The defense ministry said both the drone and the missile were intercepted and destroyed.
As the missile targeting the Aramco site was shot down, it “resulted in scattered debris that fell in close proximity to civilians and civilian objects,” ministry spokesman Col. Turki Al-Maliki said.
He said the ministry would take all measures to safeguard the nation’s assets “in a manner that preserves the security of global energy, puts an end to these acts of terrorism, guarantees the security and stability of oil supplies, protects security of petroleum exports and safeguards freedom of shipping and international trade.”
The attacks come after the Arab coalition said it had launched airstrikes on Houthi targets in Yemen after a wave of drone attacks.
The Iran-backed militia had fired 12 explosives laden drones and two missiles. The missiles targeted Jazan in south-west Saudi Arabia, about 50 kilometers from the Yemen border.
Saudi oil port and Aramco residential area targeted by drone, missile
https://arab.news/yxwgy
Saudi oil port and Aramco residential area targeted by drone, missile
- Energy ministry says Ras Tanura Port was targeted by a drone coming from the sea
- Shrapnel from a ballistic missile fell near Saudi Aramco’s residential area in Dhahran
Japanese researchers hope to restore coral from Saudi-made structures
- Coral skeletons made for Saudi Pavilion at Japan expo last year
- Results of Japanese study to be revealed at Riyadh Expo 2030
TOKYO: Japanese universities are seeking to restore coral reefs and marine ecosystems after receiving artificial structures that Saudi Arabia made and showcased at last year’s Osaka-Kansai Expo.
The coral skeletons were donated to the University of the Ryukyus in Okinawa and Kansai University in Osaka Prefecture, Kyodo News reported at the weekend.
The structures are made from calcium carbonate, a material on which corals are believed to grow more easily compared to artificial alternatives such as concrete or metal.
The skeletal structures were created using 3-D printers, with one piece produced a day during the expo, and displayed across an entire wall in the Saudi Arabia Pavilion, which had an area focusing on sustainable marine environments.
Coral reefs serve as habitats for much marine life, but over 40 percent of the world’s 892 species face possible extinction, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature.
The University of the Ryukyus, which received about 150 of the artificial coral skeletons, will place them in waters off the eastern coast of Okinawa’s main island and then examine their impact on the ecosystem.
Kansai University has placed theirs in the sea around Kagoshima Prefecture’s Yoron Island to observe their growth after transplanting coral polyps onto the structures.
The results of the research are expected to be revealed at the Riyadh Expo in 2030.
“I had never imagined that Japan and Saudi Arabia would cooperate on coral research,” said Masato Ueda, a professor specializing in regenerative medicine at Kansai University.
Ueda said he wants to demonstrate to children that “humanity is attempting to restore the environment.”
