Damaged Japanese tanker attacked by terrorists
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A "terrorist attack" caused the damage to a Japanese oil tanker near the Strait of Hormuz last week, the state news agency of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) reported Friday.
"The Japanese tanker M. Star left the (UAE) Port of Fujairah today after repairing damage to its starboard side incurred when it was the target of a terrorist attack while passing through international waters near the Strait of Hormuz at midnight on July 28," WAM said in the report.
Investigations and an examination carried out by specialized teams confirmed that the tanker was the target of a terrorist attack, a source of the UAE Coast Guard was quoted as saying.
"After the tanker had anchored 12 nautical miles off the Port of Fujairah, UAE explosives experts who collected and examined samples found a dent on the starboard side above the water line and remains of home-made explosives on the hull... Probably the tanker had encountered a terrorist attack from a boat loaded with explosives," the source said.
The attack on the tanker caused no human injuries or spills of oil, according to the report.
M. Star, owned by Mitsui OSK Lines, was travelling to Japan with 200,000 barrels of oil in the Strait of Hormuz when an incident occurred, leaving the ship with a large dent in its side and blown out windows and buckled doors at deck level. It then anchored off the UAE's Fujairah port for examination and repair.
The U.S. Navy's Bahrain-based Fifth Fleet, commissioned by the Japanese company, dispatched a specialist diving team to take part in the investigation into determining the cause.
On Wednesday, the Abdullah Azzam Brigades, a militant group linked to al-Qaida, said a suicide bomber was responsible for the incident.
The Strait of Hormuz is the main transit point for tankers hauling oil from producers including Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Iraq and Kuwait.
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