At least one person has died after two oil tankers exploded in the Persian Gulf in what is believed to be an Iranian attack on the vessels. According to initial findings of an Iraqi-led investigation, boats carrying explosives and linked to Iran allegedly rammed into the two tankers on Wednesday, triggering the blasts and the fires, Reuters reported.
The tankers were transporting up to 400,000 barrels of Iraqi oil, according to estimates from TankerTrackers.com. Farhan al Fartousi, the director general of the Iraqi Ports Company, told CNN that all 38 foreign crew members were safely rescued from the damaged vessels following the "explosions." The identity of the deceased remains unclear.
Fireball in Sea
Video footage of the fires shows flames spreading across the surrounding water, suggesting that oil is leaking from the large tankers. According to CNN, the vessels had been anchored next to each other before the attack took place.
The targeted ships were identified as the Maltese-flagged Zefyros and the Marshall Islands-flagged Safesea Vishnu, the outlet reported.
The Safesea Vishnu is registered to Safesea Transport Inc., a company based in the United States, while the Zefyros is owned by a Greek firm.
The alleged attack occurred within Iraq's territorial waters at the Al Faw port, located near the city of Basra, according to Al Jazeera.
Oil Price Volatile
Oil prices surged this week as concerns grew over supply disruptions linked to the war involving Iran. On a typical day, roughly one-fifth of the world's oil supply moves through the Strait of Hormuz near Iran, located about 600 miles south of Wednesday's suspected tanker attacks.
However, Operation Epic Fury and the Iranian counterattacks have forced most shipping traffic in the strait to stop, prompting oil producers to cut back on output.
Iran's leadership has vowed to block oil tankers from moving through the strait.
In response, the US military earlier this week destroyed more than a dozen Iranian ships that were reportedly laying mines in the waters.
Meanwhile, President Trump indicated that he is prepared to use the US Strategic Petroleum Reserve to help stabilize rising oil prices.
Separately, the International Energy Agency announced that its 31 member countries plan to release a record 400 million barrels of oil from their reserves to ease supply disruptions.
