Malta-flagged tanker catches fire as Iran strikes ships sailing close to Iraq
The Greek-owned Malta-flagged oil tanker Zefyros was hit by shrapnel as another vessel close by was attacked
Updated 10.11am
A Malta-flagged oil tanker briefly caught fire Thursday after being hit by shrapnel when a nearby vessel was attacked by Iran while sailing close to Iraq.
The Greek-owned Malta-flagged oil tanker Zefyros caught fire when the nearby Marshall Islands-flagged tanker Safesea Vishnu was attacked while carrying out ship-to-ship transfer operations, a Transport Malta (TM) spokesperson confirmed.
International media outlets earlier reported that the Malta-flagged tanker was also attacked as the vessels were preparing to enter the port of Khor Al-Zoubair.
"All crew are safe, and the fire was extinguished immediately," the TM spokesperson said.
The Zefyros was heading to the port of Basra to take on board an additional 30,000 tons of liquid naphtha — primarily used in petrochemicals — according to Iraq's State Organisation for Marketing of Oil (SOMO).
Iraqi state television channel Al-Ikhbariya broadcast images of a ship at sea with plumes of smoke rising from a huge fire.
An employee at Iraq's Basra oil terminal told AFP that it was unclear "whether it was a drone attack or explosive-laden boats".
SOMO confirmed in a statement that two oil tankers were attacked, without providing details on how.
The Safesea Vishnu was chartered by an Iraqi company, according to SOMO.
The incidents come just hours after the US embassy in Baghdad warned that Iran and Tehran-backed Iraqi armed groups might target US-owned oil facilities in Iraq.
The attacks come as Iran presses a campaign aimed at disrupting global energy markets in retaliation for US and Israeli strikes.
Farhan Al-Fartousi, from Iraq's General Company for Ports, told state television that one crew member had been killed and 38 rescued while the "search continues for the missing".
He did not specify the crew members' nationalities or provide details on who was behind the attack, which occurred roughly 50 kilometres (30 miles) from the coast.
However, India's embassy in Iraq said on Thursday an Indian national had died in the attack, with 15 other Indian crew members evacuated.
The Iraqi government's media cell told national news agency INA that "two tankers were subject to sabotage".
Iraq's oil ministry said on Thursday it had "deep concern" about incidents involving oil tankers in the Gulf.
"The safety of navigation in international maritime corridors and energy supply routes must remain free from regional conflicts," the ministry added.
The Strait of Hormuz, the waterway carrying a fifth of the world's oil, remains closed to almost all oil tankers, and Iran has vowed that not one litre of oil would be exported from the Gulf while its war with the United States and Israel continues.
US President Donald Trump said Wednesday that US forces have struck 28 Iranian mine-laying vessels more than a week into the Middle East war.