Jeddah, explosion aboard an oil tanker: "Hit by a bomb"

2020-12-14T06:44:13.932Z

An explosion occurred near the port of Jeddah, in Saudi Arabia, on board an oil tanker owned by a Singaporean shipowner who stated that the outbreak, followed by several fires, was of "external origin". Saudi authorities did not immediately confirm the explosion, which, according to the UK's Office of Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO), occurred on Sunday in front of the key Red Sea port and distribution center for Saudi oil giant Aramco. "The oil tanker BW Rhine was hit from the outside while unloading in Jeddah by a bomb that caused an explosion and a fire on board," Singapore-based Hafnia owner said in a statement, without providing further details. Last month, an explosion shook a Greek tanker in the Saudi port of Al-Shuqaiq in southern Saudi Arabia. The Riyadh-led military coalition in action in Yemen in the war against the Houthi rebels, had attributed the responsibility for this act to the latter who, supported by Iran, have intensified attacks against neighboring Saudi Arabia in retaliation for the military campaign in Yemen.