2026-03-05T12:19:37+00:00
font
Enable Reading Mode
A-
A
A+
Shafaq News- Basra
A Bahamas-flagged crude oil
tanker anchored near Iraq’s Khor al-Zubair port likely sustained a hull
breach after a blast early Thursday, its operating company reported.
In a statement, Sonangol Marine
Services, the US representative of the tanker Sonangol Namibe, explained that
the vessel was approached by an unidentified small boat at about 1:20 a.m.
local time while at anchor, before a loud bang was heard.
“The
crew reports that a port ballast tank is losing water which suggests some
form of hull breach but the ship remains stable and safely afloat,” it added.
According to an Iraqi energy source
and a shipping agent cited by Reuters, the tanker had been contracted by the State
Organization for Marketing of Oil (SOMO) and was heading to an Iraqi
terminal to load about 80,000 metric tons of Iraqi fuel.
The incident comes as regional
tensions remain elevated following joint US–Israeli strikes on targets inside
Iran on Feb. 28, which prompted retaliatory missile and drone attacks by Tehran
against Israel and US military bases across the region.
Read more: Larijani Network and Iran’s struggle to contain
leadership vacuum