LONDON, June 13 (Newswires) - The tanker association INTERTANKO said on Thursday that two vessels had been attacked in the Middle East and there were growing worries for the safety of ships and their crews sailing through the Strait of Hormuz.
The two tankers were hit in the Gulf of Oman, sending oil prices as much as 4% higher, a month after four other tankers were damaged by limpet mines in the same region.
"Following two attacks on Member vessels this morning, I am extremely worried about the safety of our crews going through the Strait of Hormuz," Paolo d’Amico, chairman of INTERTANKO, said in a statement.
"We need to remember that some 30% of the world’s (seaborne) crude oil passes through the Straits. If the waters are becoming unsafe, the supply to the entire Western world could be at risk."
INTERTANKO represents the greater part of the world's independent tanker fleet.
The alleged attacks affected the ship of a German owner. As the Hamburg-based shipping group Bernhard Schulte Shipmanagement announced on its website, its ship "Kokuka Courageous" was damaged in a "security incident" in the Gulf of Oman on Thursday. One of the 21 crew members was slightly injured.
The crew had left the damaged tanker with a lifeboat. The nearby ship "Coastal Ace" took them in. The "Kokuka Courageous" was still at the site of the incident, but was not in danger of sinking, it continued. The tanker was transporting methanol and the cargo was undamaged.
According to the Norwegian Maritime Authority, the second ship allegedly attacked is the Norwegian tanker 'Front Altair'. There had been three explosions on board. The ship, which sails under the flag of the Marshall Islands, was "attacked" at 06.03 in the morning. There had been no injuries, but the ship was in flames and rescue workers were on duty.
The Fifth US Fleet had reported in the morning that two tankers had made emergency calls in the Gulf of Oman after an "attack". Iranian media initially spoke of an "accident". The attacks on the tankers take place one month after "acts of sabotage" against four ships off the coast of the United Arab Emirates.
The EU called for "maximum restraint" in view of the events in the Gulf of Oman. A spokeswoman for EU Foreign Affairs Commissioner Federica Mogherini said the region "currently needs no further elements of destabilisation and tension".
The incident with two tankers in the Gulf of Oman should not be used to instigate anti-Iranian sentiments, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov told reporters on Thursday.
According to him, political and other consequences of what happened remain to be assessed. “It all provokes grave thoughts,” he added.
“I would like to take advantage of this opportunity to warn against making attempts to hold responsible those who are unfavorable among a number of well-known states. Lately, we have been witnessing a campaign of political, psychological and military pressure against Iran growing stronger,” the diplomat said. “We would not like to see the events that have just taken place to be speculatively used to further whip up anti-Iranian tensions.”