Iran strikes a loaded oil tanker at Dubai port
A fire broke out on a tanker - bringing the total number of ships attacked in and near the Persian Gulf since the start of the war to at least 23, the Financial Times has calculated
Photo: Tommy Chia SG / Shutterstock
An Iranian drone on the night of March 31 hit a fully loaded Kuwaiti oil tanker off the coast of Dubai, Bloomberg writes. These data with reference to the UK Maritime Trade Operations Center (UKMTO) is confirmed by the Financial Times.
According to Bloomberg, the ship in question was the large crude oil tanker Al-Salmi, which was flying the flag of Kuwait and was anchored in the port of Dubai, 31 nautical miles (about 57 kilometers) northwest of the emirate. The impact occurred just after midnight local time. The drone damaged the hull and caused a fire on board, Kuwait's state-owned Kuwait Petroleum said in a statement (quoted by Bloomberg). Al-Salmi was headed for the Chinese city of Qingdao, according to signals the vessel had been transmitting in recent days.
Later, the Dubai Media Office (Dubai Media Office - the local government's press office) said on its X page that the fire on board the tanker had been extinguished, there was no oil leak and all 24 Al-Salmi crew members were safe.
This brings the total number of ships attacked in and near the Persian Gulf since the war began in late February to at least 23, the Financial Times calculated. The attack on the Al-Salmi is the first such confirmed incident in more than a week, the newspaper pointed out. Bloomberg found that, as of Tuesday morning, there were more than 400 vessels of various types in the area of the anchorage where Al-Salmi was attacked.
Brent crude oil Mark jumped to $115.6 per barrel on March 31 amid the incident. However, it then slowed down - at the time of publication, May Brent contracts are trading at $113.5 - amid reports from The Wall Street Journal sources that US President Donald Trump has informed aides that he is ready to end the military campaign against Iran - so far without resolving the issue of shipping through the Strait of Hormuz. U.S. WTI crude oil futures for delivery in May jumped to $106.86 a barrel at an intraday high on March 31, at $102.93 at the time of publication.
This article was AI-translated and verified by a human editor
