Thome ship one of four hit in UAE sabotage attacks

Video posted on Twitter by EHA news showed damage sustained by Andrea Victory

More details are emerging about the sabotage attacks on four ships reported yesterday by the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation (MOFAIC) (see earlier story).

The initial statement said only that four commercial ships were subjected to sabotage operations near United Arab Emirates territorial waters in the Gulf of Oman.

Today, Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported that one of the ships was the Norwegian-registered product tanker Andrea Victory. The newspaper quoted ship management company Thome as saying: “The master of MT Andrea Victory reported the crew were unharmed but there was a hole in the hull area of the aft peak tank. The ship is not in any danger of sinking.”

Video posted on Twitter by Turkish based EHA news showed the Andrea Victory with damage aft.

This morning, Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Energy, Industry and Mineral Resources, H.E. Khalid Al-Falih, confirmed that, at six o’clock yesterday morning, two Saudi oil tankers were subjected to a sabotage attack in the exclusive economic zone of the UAE off the coast of the Emirate of Fujairah, while on their way to cross into the Arabian Gulf.

“One of the two vessels was on its way 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,” said the Minister. “Fortunately, the attack didn’t lead to any casualties or oil spill; however, it caused significant damage to the structures of the two vessels.”