Maritime security firm Dryad Global said the ship was en route to Singapore from Dammam in Saudi Arabia. The incident occurred at 2040 GMT on Thursday, UKMTO said, but it gave no details about a possible cause. We have no idea whether this was an incident that was past of the tensions between Iran and the United States and whether there is a link to the fact the ship’s owner is Israeli," Kan reported Ungar as having said. "There is no damage to the engine, and no casualties among the crew. Israel's Kan broadcaster named the ship's owner as Rami Ungar and quoted him as saying: "The damage is two holes, diameter approximately 1.5 meters, but it is not yet clear to us if this was caused by missile fire or mines that were attached to the ship. defence official told Reuters in Washington that the ship was hit by a blast above the water line that ripped holes in both sides of its hull. Israel has not commented on its alleged role in the scientist's killing.The U.S. Over the years, Iran has been linked to attacks on Israeli and Jewish civilian targets in Latin America, Europe and Asia.
Since the killing of Fakhrizadeh, the Iranian nuclear scientist, last November, Israeli officials have raised alarms about potential Iranian retaliation, including through its regional proxies like Lebanon's Hezbollah and Yemen's Houthi rebels.
#MV HELIOS RAY SERIES#
also had attributed a series of other suspected attacks to Iran, including the use of limpet mines - designed to be attached magnetically to a ship’s hull - to cripple four oil tankers off the nearby Emirati port of Fujairah. military blamed Iran for explosions on two oil tankers near the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world's most strategic shipping lanes.
Iran did not immediately acknowledge the incident.
While the circumstances of the explosion remain unclear, Dryad Global said it was very possible the blast stemmed from “asymmetric activity by Iranian military."Īs Iran seeks to pressure the United States to lift sanctions, the country may seek “to exercise forceful diplomacy through military means,” Dryad reported. It discharged vehicles at several ports in the region, Raja added, including in Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, with its last port of call at Dammam. The vessel came loaded with cargo from Europe. On Friday at 0230 GMT, the vessel stopped for at least 9 hours east of a main Omani port before making a 360-degree turn and sailing toward Dubai, likely for damage assessment and repairs, he said. Ranjith Raja of the data firm Refinitiv told the AP that the Israeli-owned vessel had left the Persian Gulf Thursday bound for Singapore. Iran also has blamed Israel for a recent series of attacks, including a mysterious explosion last summer that destroyed an advanced centrifuge assembly plant at its Natanz nuclear facility and the killing of Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, a top Iranian scientist who founded the Islamic Republic’s military nuclear program two decades ago.Ĭapt. Iran is seeking to pressure Biden to grant the sanctions relief it received under the deal that former President Donald Trump abandoned nearly three years ago. The blast comes as Tehran increasingly breaches its 2015 nuclear accord with world powers to create leverage over Washington. Israeli officials did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Israel’s Channel 13, in an unsourced report, said the assessment in Israel is that Iran was behind the blast. It was coming from Dammam, Saudi Arabia, and still listed Singapore as its destination on its tracker. Satellite-tracking data from website showed the Helios Ray had been nearly entering the Arabian Sea around 0600 GMT Friday before it suddenly turned around and began heading back toward the Strait of Hormuz. Another private security official, who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity to discuss intelligence matters, similarly identified the ship as the Helios Ray. President Joe Biden tries to revive nuclear negotiations with Iran, he ordered overnight airstrikes on facilities in Syria belonging to a powerful Iranian-backed Iraqi armed group.ĭryad Global, a maritime intelligence firm, identified the stricken vessel as the MV Helios Ray, a Bahamian-flagged roll-on, roll-off vehicle cargo ship. Navy blamed on Iran, which Tehran denied.
The incident recalled the summer of 2019, when the same site saw a series of suspected attacks that the U.S. The explosion in the Gulf of Oman forced the vessel to head to the nearest port. The crew and vessel were safe, according to the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations, which is run by the British navy. DUBAI, United Arab Emirates - An explosion struck an Israeli-owned cargo ship sailing out of the Middle East on Friday, an unexplained blast renewing concerns about ship security in the region amid escalating tensions between the U.S.
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