Three tankers damaged in Gulf as US-Iran conflict escalates
By Yousef Saba, Jaidaa Taha and Jonathan Saul
DUBAI/LONDON, March 1 (Reuters) – At least three tankers were damaged off the Gulf coast after U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran triggered Iranian retaliation that left commercial ships at risk of collateral damage, shipping sources and officials said on Sunday.
Shipping data published on Sunday showed risks to commercial shipping had increased in the past 24 hours, with more than 200 ships, including oil and liquefied gas tankers, anchoring in the Strait of Hormuz and surrounding waters.
Iran announced that it has closed transportation in the critical waterway.
“The US-Israeli attack on Iran significantly increases the security risk to ships operating in the Persian Gulf and neighboring waters,” said Jakob Larsen, chief safety and security officer at maritime union BIMCO.
‘SHIPS CAN BE TARGETED BY DESCRIPTION OR BY MISTAKE’
“Ships with business ties to U.S. or Israeli interests are more likely to be targeted, but other ships may also be targeted intentionally or accidentally.”
A Palau-flagged oil tanker under US sanctions was hit off Oman’s Musandam peninsula on Sunday, injuring four people, the country’s maritime security center said, without specifying what hit the ship.
The Marshall Islands-flagged crude oil tanker MKD VYOM was hit by a shell while sailing with a cargo off the coast of Oman, two maritime security sources said on Sunday.
One of the sources said the ship was hit 44.4 nautical miles northwest of Muscat.
British maritime agency UKMTO said a loaded commercial ship reported an explosion at the same location.
Maritime security sources said a separate tanker in the United Arab Emirates’ Jebel Ali port was nearly damaged by falling debris from an aerial attack following Iran’s nightly attacks targeting Gulf states.
A third oil fuel tanker was damaged off the coast of the UAE, two shipping sources said.
The U.S. transportation department’s Maritime Administration said in a memo on Saturday that ships were advised to avoid the Strait of Hormuz and the Gulf of Oman due to the risk of retaliatory attacks by Iran.
“Any U.S.-flagged, owned or crewed commercial vessel operating in these areas must stay 30 nautical miles away from U.S. military vessels to reduce the risk of being perceived as a threat,” he said.
Security sources said there was also the possibility that Iranian forces would lay mines in the narrow strips in the Strait of Hormuz.
The Iranian military loaded naval mines on ships in the Persian Gulf in June, raising concerns in Washington that Tehran was preparing to blockade the Strait of Hormuz, two US officials told Reuters in July.
Maritime sources said there was an expectation that war risk insurance rates would rise as insurers reviewed cover on Monday.
War risk insurance is required when sailing into dangerous areas and Lloyd’s of London market has already listed Iran, the Gulf and parts of the Gulf of Oman as high risk.
“We estimate short-term rate increases for marine boat insurance in the Gulf could range from 25% to 50%,” said Dylan Mortimer of insurance broker Marsh.
(Reporting by Yousef Saba, Jaidaa Taha and Jonathan Saul, Additional reporting by Yannis Souliotis, Arathy Somasekhar, Enes Tunagur, Muhammad Al Gebaly and Nadine Awadalla; Editing by Ros Russell and David Goodman)
