Today, Friday, the Iraqi authorities said that a "large" sea mine had attached to an oil tanker in international waters off the Iraqi coast, and that a specialized team went to it to neutralize the mine.
The Defense Ministry's Security Media Cell stated - in a statement - that yesterday afternoon, Thursday, a foreign object had been observed sticking to one of the tankers.
The statement said the tanker was supplying fuel to another ship in the waiting area with international waters, 28 nautical miles (52 km) from the Iraqi oil ports.
The Security Media Cell said that the tanker was leased by the Iraqi state oil marketing company SOMO, without indicating the owner of the ship.
The statement added that the Ministry of Interior "formed a team to handle explosives, and it was transported by air to the port of Faw, and in coordination with the Iraqi naval force, it went to the ship."
He pointed out that the team evacuated the ship that is refueling, and is working to nullify the mine in the target tanker and clear it of their capacity.
Al-Jazeera correspondent in Baghdad, Amir Fendi, said that sources in Iraqi ports spoke of the danger of the mine due to its large size.
He pointed out that the authorities had not yet explained how the mine attached to the tanker.