Shocking footage captures the moment two oil tankers erupt into flames after reportedly being struck by boats laden with explosives, in a dramatic escalation of attacks on shipping in the Gulf. Towering plumes of thick black smoke can be seen billowing into the sky as fire tears through the vessels, which were carrying fuel cargoes from Iraq, when they were hit late on Wednesday.
Iraqi port officials said the ships struck during the late-night attack in Gulf waters near Iraq were the Marshall Islands-flagged Safesea Vishnu and the Malta-registered Zefyros, which had loaded fuel cargoes in Iraq. One crew member was killed in the blasts and dozens of others had to be evacuated as flames engulfed the ships.
Farhan Al-Fartousi, from Iraq’s General Company for Ports, told Al-Iraqiya News that one crew member was killed and 38 had been rescued, according to state news agency INA. He said the « search continues for the missing. » He added that the tankers were located about 30 miles off the Iraqi coast, Reuters reports.
The blasts near Iraq came after several other vessels were struck across the Gulf on the same day.
Earlier, maritime security authorities reported that three cargo ships had been struck by projectiles of unknown origin in the Strait of Hormuz.
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One of the vessels was a Thailand-flagged cargo ship sailing about 11 nautical miles north of Oman. A fire broke out onboard after it was hit, but the Royal Thai Navy said all 23 crew members were safely rescued. Iran later said it had targeted the ship, claiming the crew had ignored warnings.
In a separate incident, an unidentified projectile hit a container ship around 35 nautical miles off the coast of Jebel Ali in the United Arab Emirates. The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said the vessel suffered a small fire but that all crew members were safe.
Another vessel, a Japanese-flagged container ship was struck roughly 25 nautical miles off the UAE coast, sustaining only minor damage. A third cargo vessel was also hit about 50 nautical miles north-west of Dubai, though officials said its crew were unharmed.
At least 16 vessels have reportedly been damaged in the region since the conflict began.
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