At least three people have reportedly lost their lives after a fire onboard an oil tanker off the Baniyas refinery, Syria, on Saturday. Some reports say the fire came from a suspected attack by a drone coming from Lebanese waters, while others attribute the incident to a welding accident.
The identity of the vessel remains unclear, with Iran’s al-Alam TV saying it was one of three Iranian oil tankers that had recently arrived at the Syrian oil terminal, while the semi-official news agency Tasnim denied it was Iranian, Reuters reported.
Syria’s oil ministry said firefighters on Saturday put out the fire, but there are no further details, neither about what it said was a drone attack nor on where the ship came from. Syrian reports say two crew members and one worker were killed in the incident, but this is also yet to be officially confirmed.
Iranian media reported there was some damage to the Iranian tanker but no casualties, but Iran’s Tasnim news agency, reported the incident occurred to another vessel that was “not linked to a ship carrying Iranian cargo” and have linked the fire to a welding accident.
Several news agencies, such as the pro-Damascus al-Mayadeen TV, have reported that the fire was the result of an Israeli drone attack. The Israeli military declined to comment on the incident.
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The Baniyas refinery, along with another one in Homs, covers a significant part of Syria’s demand for diesel, heating fuel, gasoline and other petroleum products, according to industry experts. The war-torn country has grown more dependent on Iranian oil shipments in recent years but tightening sanctions imposed by West countries on Iran, Syria and their allies, have made it more difficult to get enough supplies.
