The crew of an oil tanker flying the flag of Panama was rescued after a fire aboard the ship, off the coast of the United Arab Emirates, the UAE authorities announced on Wednesday. Rescue teams saved "the sailors and the crew of the ship," said the Federal Land and Maritime Transport Authority.
BREAKING: Footage of Tanker on fire off the coast of the Emirate if Sharjah, UAE #oott #tanker #fire pic.twitter.com/32GDx3YUdI
- Katie McQue (@katiemcque) January 29, 2020"The authorities of the United Arab Emirates are working to put out the fire that started on board an oil tanker 33 km from the coast of (the emirate of) Sharjah after receiving a call for help," said on Twitter a senior official from the UAE.
An investigation is underway
The vessel was not carrying oil at the time of the fire. The incident was caused, a priori, by an accident during maintenance operations, according to the federal authority, which said that an investigation was underway to establish the origin of the fire.
A spokesman for the United States' 5th Fleet of Naval Forces in the Middle East and based in Bahrain, a country bordering the Emirates, said that US forces "were aware of the incident and are closely monitoring the situation ". The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said it had received information about a burning vessel in the northwest of the emirate of Sharjah.
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- Emirates
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