• 2 min de lectura
• 2 min de lectura
Shipping risk remains high in the Middle East as attacks and threats against passing vessels continue. Although there have been no injuries in these recent incidents, the activities have been sufficient to disrupt routing, insurance and chartering.
Vessel EGYPT PROSPERITY, image credit:Vincent de Koning
The latest incidents involve the attack on the tankers on 2 August. Maritime security firm Vanguard Tech have reported that around 20 nautical miles northeast of Khasab, Oman, the Liberian-flagged crude oil tanker Egypt Prosperity with a carrying capacity of 318,663 DWT faced repeated threats on VHF.
The call claimed association with Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy. The captain of the Egypt Prosperity altered course after hearing an explosion some distance from the vessel.
The security firm also reported another incident, involving the Liberian-flagged crude oil tanker On Pride with a carrying capacity of 109,999 DWT. The vessel reported warning shots fired in its direction and an explosion approximately 1.5 nautical miles away.
At the time of the incident the captain of On Pride believed that the other vessel was targeted but could not confirm. No injuries were reported in either of the incidents.
Earlier GasLog-operated two vessels were attacked and damage. On 29 July the LNG tanker GasLog Salem was struck by a drone while berthed at the Port of Damietta on Egypt's Mediterranean coast while on 31 July, the Bermuda-flagged LNG tanker GasLog Shanghai was attacked and the engine room of the vessel sustained damage off Oman.
These attacks have caused commercial disruption, with shipowners avoiding the area whenever possible, war-risk insurance becoming more expensive, and Gulf exporters diverting cargoes through alternative ports or pipeline routes.
