\n<\/p>\n
Listen to this article<\/span>\u00a0|\u00a0<\/span>5 mins<\/span><\/p>\n<\/button>info<\/title><path class=\"icon-main-color\" d=\"M12 0a12 12 0 1 0 0 24 12 12 0 0 0 0-24Zm-.226 3.225a2.039 2.039 0 0 1 2.155 1.924v.193a1.998 1.998 0 0 1-2.155 2.149 2.029 2.029 0 0 1-2.146-2.15 2.039 2.039 0 0 1 1.955-2.122h.193l-.002.006Zm3.227 15.525a.75.75 0 0 1-.752.75H9.75a.75.75 0 0 1-.75-.75v-1.5a.75.75 0 0 1 .752-.75h.748V12h-.75a.75.75 0 0 1-.75-.75v-1.5a.75.75 0 0 1 .752-.751h3a.75.75 0 0 1 .75.752v6.75h.75a.75.75 0 0 1 .75.749L15 18.75Z\"\/><\/svg><\/button><\/div>\n<div aria-live=\"polite\" aria-atomic=\"true\">\n<p>Iranian explosive-laden boats appear to have attacked two fuel tankers in Iraqi waters, setting them ablaze and killing one crew member, after projectiles struck four vessels in Gulf waters, according to reports.<\/p>\n<p>The ships targeted in late-night \u2060attacks on Wednesday in the Gulf near Iraq were the Marshall Islands-flagged Safesea Vishnu and the Zefyros, which had loaded fuel cargoes in Iraq, two Iraqi port officials told the Reuters news agency. One Iraqi port security source said the Zefyros was flagged \u200cin Malta.<\/p>\n<section class=\"more-on\">\n<h2 class=\"more-on__heading\">Recommended Stories<!-- --> <\/h2>\n<p><span class=\"screen-reader-text\">list of 4 items<\/span><span class=\"screen-reader-text\">end of list<\/span><\/section>\n<p>\u201cWe recovered the body of a foreign crew member from the water,\u201d one port security official said, as Iraqi rescue teams continued searching for other missing seafarers. It was not immediately clear which ship that person was linked to.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cA boat belonging to the Iraqi Ports Company rescued 25 crew members from the two vessels, and the fires are still burning on both ships,\u201d Farhan al-Fartousi, director general of the state-run General Company for Ports of Iraq (GCPI), told Reuters.<\/p>\n<p>Al-Fartousi told Iraq\u2019s state news agency that oil ports have completely stopped operations following the attacks, while commercial ports continue to function.<\/p>\n<p>Al Jazeera\u2019s correspondent in Baghdad, Iraq, Mahmoud Abdelwahed, said the attack on the two tankers was described as sabotage by officials.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIraqi officials say this is a flagrant violation of Iraq\u2019s sovereignty given the fact this act, they say, of sabotage has happened in Iraq\u2019s territorial waters,\u201d Abdelwahed said.<\/p>\n<p>Reuters said that reports of the use of explosive-laden unmanned surface vessels, which Ukraine has used with great effect in its war with Russia, come as Iran has blocked oil shipments from transiting the key Strait of Hormuz, through which one-fifth of \u2060the world\u2019s oil and gas transits but has been blocked amid the United States-Israeli war on Iran.<\/p>\n<p>Reuters, citing two unnamed sources, also reported on Wednesday that Iran \u200chas deployed about a dozen mines in the strait, while US President Donald Trump said US forces had struck 28 Iranian mine-laying vessels, amid warnings by Trump of severe repercussions should Iran lay mines in the key waterway for global shipping.<\/p>\n<h3>Strait of Hormuz sealed<\/h3>\n<p>Iran\u2019s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) have warned that any ship passing through the Strait of Hormuz will be targeted.<\/p>\n<p>Early on Thursday, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) centre said an unidentified projectile struck a container ship, causing a small fire, 35 nautical \u200cmiles (64.8km) north \u200cof Jebel Ali in the United Arab Emirates. The crew were reported safe.<\/p>\n<p>The Thai-flagged Mayuree Naree dry bulk vessel was struck by \u201ctwo projectiles of unknown origin\u201d while sailing through the strait on Wednesday, causing a fire and damaging the engine room, the ship\u2019s Thai-listed operator Precious Shipping said in a statement.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThree crew members are \u2060reported missing and believed to be trapped in the engine room,\u201d Precious Shipping said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe company is working with the relevant authorities to rescue these three \u2060missing crew members,\u201d it said, adding that the remaining 20 crew members had been safely evacuated and were ashore in Oman.<\/p>\n<p>Images shared by Thai news outlet Khaosod English showed what were reported to be crew members of the ship after their rescue by Oman\u2019s navy.<\/p>\n<p>The IRGC said in a statement carried by the semiofficial Tasnim news agency that the ship was \u201cfired upon by Iranian fighters\u201d, suggesting the first direct engagement by the IRGC, which has previously fired missiles or drones.<\/p>\n<p>The Japan-flagged container ship ONE Majesty also sustained minor damage on Wednesday from an unknown projectile 25 nautical miles (about 46 kilometres) northwest \u2060of Ras Al-Khaimah in the UAE, two maritime security firms said. Its Japanese owner Mitsui OSK Lines and a spokesperson for Ocean Network Express, its charterer, said the vessel was struck while at anchor in the Gulf, and an inspection of the hull revealed minor damage above the waterline.<\/p>\n<p>All crew are safe, they said, adding that the vessel remains fully operational and seaworthy. The owner said the cause of the incident remained unclear and was under investigation.<\/p>\n<p>A third vessel, a bulk \u200ccarrier, was also hit by an unknown projectile approximately 50 nautical miles (about 93km) northwest of Dubai, maritime security firms said.<\/p>\n<p>The projectile had damaged the hull of the Marshall Islands-flagged Star Gwyneth, maritime risk management company Vanguard said, adding that the vessel\u2019s crew were safe. Owner Star Bulk Carriers said the ship was hit in the hold area while it was anchored. There were no crew injuries and no listing.<\/p>\n<p>The US Navy has refused near-daily requests from the shipping industry \u2060for military escorts through the Strait of Hormuz since the start of the war on Iran, saying the risk of attacks is too high for now, sources familiar with the matter told Reuters.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><br \/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Listen to this article\u00a0|\u00a05 mins info Iranian explosive-laden boats appear to have attacked two fuel tankers in Iraqi waters, setting them ablaze and killing one crew member, after projectiles struck four vessels in Gulf waters, according to reports. The ships targeted in late-night \u2060attacks on Wednesday in the Gulf near Iraq were the Marshall Islands-flagged […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":14779,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-14778","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-middle-east-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14778","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=14778"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14778\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/14779"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=14778"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=14778"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=14778"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
<\/button>info<\/title><path class=\"icon-main-color\" d=\"M12 0a12 12 0 1 0 0 24 12 12 0 0 0 0-24Zm-.226 3.225a2.039 2.039 0 0 1 2.155 1.924v.193a1.998 1.998 0 0 1-2.155 2.149 2.029 2.029 0 0 1-2.146-2.15 2.039 2.039 0 0 1 1.955-2.122h.193l-.002.006Zm3.227 15.525a.75.75 0 0 1-.752.75H9.75a.75.75 0 0 1-.75-.75v-1.5a.75.75 0 0 1 .752-.75h.748V12h-.75a.75.75 0 0 1-.75-.75v-1.5a.75.75 0 0 1 .752-.751h3a.75.75 0 0 1 .75.752v6.75h.75a.75.75 0 0 1 .75.749L15 18.75Z\"\/><\/svg><\/button><\/div>\n<div aria-live=\"polite\" aria-atomic=\"true\">\n<p>Iranian explosive-laden boats appear to have attacked two fuel tankers in Iraqi waters, setting them ablaze and killing one crew member, after projectiles struck four vessels in Gulf waters, according to reports.<\/p>\n<p>The ships targeted in late-night \u2060attacks on Wednesday in the Gulf near Iraq were the Marshall Islands-flagged Safesea Vishnu and the Zefyros, which had loaded fuel cargoes in Iraq, two Iraqi port officials told the Reuters news agency. One Iraqi port security source said the Zefyros was flagged \u200cin Malta.<\/p>\n<section class=\"more-on\">\n<h2 class=\"more-on__heading\">Recommended Stories<!-- --> <\/h2>\n<p><span class=\"screen-reader-text\">list of 4 items<\/span><span class=\"screen-reader-text\">end of list<\/span><\/section>\n<p>\u201cWe recovered the body of a foreign crew member from the water,\u201d one port security official said, as Iraqi rescue teams continued searching for other missing seafarers. It was not immediately clear which ship that person was linked to.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cA boat belonging to the Iraqi Ports Company rescued 25 crew members from the two vessels, and the fires are still burning on both ships,\u201d Farhan al-Fartousi, director general of the state-run General Company for Ports of Iraq (GCPI), told Reuters.<\/p>\n<p>Al-Fartousi told Iraq\u2019s state news agency that oil ports have completely stopped operations following the attacks, while commercial ports continue to function.<\/p>\n<p>Al Jazeera\u2019s correspondent in Baghdad, Iraq, Mahmoud Abdelwahed, said the attack on the two tankers was described as sabotage by officials.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIraqi officials say this is a flagrant violation of Iraq\u2019s sovereignty given the fact this act, they say, of sabotage has happened in Iraq\u2019s territorial waters,\u201d Abdelwahed said.<\/p>\n<p>Reuters said that reports of the use of explosive-laden unmanned surface vessels, which Ukraine has used with great effect in its war with Russia, come as Iran has blocked oil shipments from transiting the key Strait of Hormuz, through which one-fifth of \u2060the world\u2019s oil and gas transits but has been blocked amid the United States-Israeli war on Iran.<\/p>\n<p>Reuters, citing two unnamed sources, also reported on Wednesday that Iran \u200chas deployed about a dozen mines in the strait, while US President Donald Trump said US forces had struck 28 Iranian mine-laying vessels, amid warnings by Trump of severe repercussions should Iran lay mines in the key waterway for global shipping.<\/p>\n<h3>Strait of Hormuz sealed<\/h3>\n<p>Iran\u2019s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) have warned that any ship passing through the Strait of Hormuz will be targeted.<\/p>\n<p>Early on Thursday, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) centre said an unidentified projectile struck a container ship, causing a small fire, 35 nautical \u200cmiles (64.8km) north \u200cof Jebel Ali in the United Arab Emirates. The crew were reported safe.<\/p>\n<p>The Thai-flagged Mayuree Naree dry bulk vessel was struck by \u201ctwo projectiles of unknown origin\u201d while sailing through the strait on Wednesday, causing a fire and damaging the engine room, the ship\u2019s Thai-listed operator Precious Shipping said in a statement.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThree crew members are \u2060reported missing and believed to be trapped in the engine room,\u201d Precious Shipping said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe company is working with the relevant authorities to rescue these three \u2060missing crew members,\u201d it said, adding that the remaining 20 crew members had been safely evacuated and were ashore in Oman.<\/p>\n<p>Images shared by Thai news outlet Khaosod English showed what were reported to be crew members of the ship after their rescue by Oman\u2019s navy.<\/p>\n<p>The IRGC said in a statement carried by the semiofficial Tasnim news agency that the ship was \u201cfired upon by Iranian fighters\u201d, suggesting the first direct engagement by the IRGC, which has previously fired missiles or drones.<\/p>\n<p>The Japan-flagged container ship ONE Majesty also sustained minor damage on Wednesday from an unknown projectile 25 nautical miles (about 46 kilometres) northwest \u2060of Ras Al-Khaimah in the UAE, two maritime security firms said. Its Japanese owner Mitsui OSK Lines and a spokesperson for Ocean Network Express, its charterer, said the vessel was struck while at anchor in the Gulf, and an inspection of the hull revealed minor damage above the waterline.<\/p>\n<p>All crew are safe, they said, adding that the vessel remains fully operational and seaworthy. The owner said the cause of the incident remained unclear and was under investigation.<\/p>\n<p>A third vessel, a bulk \u200ccarrier, was also hit by an unknown projectile approximately 50 nautical miles (about 93km) northwest of Dubai, maritime security firms said.<\/p>\n<p>The projectile had damaged the hull of the Marshall Islands-flagged Star Gwyneth, maritime risk management company Vanguard said, adding that the vessel\u2019s crew were safe. Owner Star Bulk Carriers said the ship was hit in the hold area while it was anchored. There were no crew injuries and no listing.<\/p>\n<p>The US Navy has refused near-daily requests from the shipping industry \u2060for military escorts through the Strait of Hormuz since the start of the war on Iran, saying the risk of attacks is too high for now, sources familiar with the matter told Reuters.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><br \/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Listen to this article\u00a0|\u00a05 mins info Iranian explosive-laden boats appear to have attacked two fuel tankers in Iraqi waters, setting them ablaze and killing one crew member, after projectiles struck four vessels in Gulf waters, according to reports. The ships targeted in late-night \u2060attacks on Wednesday in the Gulf near Iraq were the Marshall Islands-flagged […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":14779,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-14778","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-middle-east-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14778","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=14778"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14778\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/14779"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=14778"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=14778"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=14778"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}