Tanker attacked off Iraq coast, largest since Iran crisis began - Bloomberg

A tanker associated with Angola's national oil company Sonangol was damaged in an explosion in the northern Persian Gulf, Bloomberg reports. The incident indicates the expansion of the risk zone for shipping in the Middle East to the most remote areas of the Gulf.

A small boat approached the oil tanker Sonangol Namibe near the Iraqi port of Khor-ez-Zubayr, after which an explosion was heard and the ship began to lose water from the ballast tank - a compartment that provides stability, Bloomberg reports citing the operator of the ship Sonangol Marine Services (a division of Angola's state oil monopoly Sonangol). The company specified that there was no information about pollution of the water area, and there was no cargo on board. Reuters specifies that the tanker was traveling under the flag of the Bahamas.

The incident with Sonangol Namibe occurred in one of the most remote locations where attacks on ships have been recorded since the beginning of hostilities in the Middle East in late February, indicating that the geography of the conflict is expanding deep into the Persian Gulf, Bloomberg states. According to the agency, the affected tanker is also the largest of the attacked vessels in the six days since the beginning of the Iranian crisis.

Iranian state television reported that Iran launched a missile attack on an alleged U.S. oil tanker in the Persian Gulf on March 5. The vessel "was hit by a missile in the northern Persian Gulf" and "engulfed in flames," Euronews quoted a statement by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) distributed by the Iranian TV channel as saying.

In addition, on March 5, the UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) reported that a tanker at the anchorage off the coast of Kuwait suffered a "powerful explosion," the British Independent reports. According to the agency, the ship recorded water intake and oil leakage from the cargo tank, but there were no reports of a fire.

The attack followed a strike on a container ship in the Strait of Hormuz on March 4, as well as attacks on other vessels in the region. The IRGC said earlier that any vessel passing through the Strait of Hormuz would be under Tehran's control for the duration of the war.

Brent crude oil Mark is trading at $82.8 a barrel in March 5 trading, having jumped to $84.74 at an intraday high.

According to the OEC (The Observatory of Economic Complexity) report for 2024, the largest buyer of oil from Angola is China ($16 bln, 49% of exports). The U.S. is in fourth place in this list ($1.7 billion) after India ($3.4 billion) and Spain ($2.1 billion).

This article was AI-translated and verified by a human editor