UAE’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation (MOFAIC) announced that four commercial vessels were subjected to sabotage, close to United Arab Emirates territorial waters in the Gulf of Oman, on Sunday, May 12. The incident occurred east of Fujairah, one of the world’s largest bunkering hubs situated outside the Strait of Hormuz.
The Ministry commented
The concerned authorities have taken all necessary measures, and are investigating the incident in cooperation with local and international bodies.
The Ministry had no details for the sabotage. However, no injuries and fatalities onboard were reported, as well as no spillage of chemicals or fuel.
In addition, the MOFAIC highlighted that this kind of act against commercial and civilian vessels and the possibility of threatening the safety and lives of people onboard those vessels is a serious development.
It urged the international community to take on their responsibilities to prevent such actions by those who try to undermine maritime traffic safety and security.
Khalid Al-Falih, the Minister of Energy, Industry and Mineral Resources, noted that two of the four vessels were Saudi oil tankers, sailing to cross into the Arabian Gulf.
[smlsubform prepend=”GET THE SAFETY4SEA IN YOUR INBOX!” showname=false emailtxt=”” emailholder=”Enter your email address” showsubmit=true submittxt=”Submit” jsthanks=false thankyou=”Thank you for subscribing to our mailing list”]
Also, one of the two vessels was planned to be loaded with Saudi crude oil from the port of Ras Tanura, to be delivered to Saudi Aramco’s customers in the United States.
Concluding, the Ministry described as ‘baseless and unfounded’ rumours earlier today, 12th May, of incidents taking place within the Port of Fujairah, saying that operations within the port were under way as normal, without any interruption.
