By Reuters On May 15, 2015
Image (c) Rainer
Petzold/MarineTraffic.com
LONDON, May 15
(Reuters) – A Singapore-flagged oil products tanker fired at by Iranian craft
on Thursday had previously collided with an Iranian oil drilling platform in
March and efforts have since been made to resolve the issue, the owner said on
Friday.
The Alpine Eternity
was attacked by a number of small craft in international waters off the United
Arab Emirates in the latest escalation in the region.
The owner, South
Maritime Pte Ltd, and manager, Transpetrol TM, said in a joint statement that
the tanker collided with an uncharted object on March 21 in the Middle East
Gulf, which was later identified as an Iranian jacket platform. No one was
injured and no pollution was spilled.
“Since the March 21
incident, there has been a continuous dialog between the owners/drilling
contractor of the offshore structure, and representatives of the vessel and
their liability insurers,” they said in the statement.
“Owners and managers
can see no reason why the Iranian authorities should try to seize the vessel,
given the advanced state of negotiations and ongoing dialog with the Iranian
counterparts.”
Last week, Iran
released a Marshall Islands-flagged container ship, Maersk Tigris, and its
crew, which were seized in the Strait of Hormuz over a years-old debt. This
prompted the United States to send vessels to temporarily accompany
U.S.-flagged ships through the strait. Iranian patrol boats had shadowed a
separate container ship earlier last month.
The Alpine Eternity
was anchored off Dubai on Friday after managing to reach United Arab Emirates
waters on Thursday with its crew safe. The ship’s master had ignored a call to
stop by the Iranian boats.
The statement said in
ordinary circumstances insurers would be able to post security on behalf of the
owner, but Western sanctions imposed on Iran, including banking measures, had
made this difficult.
“This has been
discussed in full with the Iranian counterparts,” the statement added. “The
owners, managers and the liability insurers are committed to resolving these
issues once all necessary clearances have been obtained from the appropriate
authorities in the UK and USA.”
The statement said an
underwater survey of damage to the jacket had been carried out with discussions
“on-going in good faith for full surveys to take place, after which the scope
of repair/replacement options will be clearer.”
The Maritime and Port
Authority of Singapore said on Friday that no Singaporeans were aboard the
Alpine Eternity, adding that it was “investigating the matter.”
DEEP CONCERN
Millions of barrels
of oil are transported daily through the Bab el-Mandeb and Strait of Hormuz to
Europe, the United States and Asia, waterways which pass along the coasts of
Yemen and Iran respectively.
“In a month when
there have been increased incidents involving ships transiting this area, we
are deeply concerned to see another incident,” an official with oil tanker
association INTERTANKO told Reuters. “We are looking for more information about
this latest event.”
Shipping sources said
they were bracing for more tensions at sea, which could lead to a spike in
shipping costs.
“For crude, bulk
carriers, there is little option but to continue to sail through the Strait (of
Hormuz),” said Andy Lane at shipping specialist CTI Consultancy.
Washington on
Thursday acknowledged concern about Iran’s conduct. The Pentagon did not rule
out again ordering U.S. warships to accompany commercial vessels passing
through the Strait of Hormuz, as it did after the last incident.
The latest episode in
the Gulf coincided with mounting concern over an Iranian cargo ship headed to
Yemen. A Saudi Arabia-led coalition has imposed inspections on all ships to
stop weapons supplies reaching the Iran-allied Houthi rebels, which control
most of the country.
The Iran Shahed cargo
ship was sailing past the coast of Oman on Friday bound for the Red Sea Yemeni
port of Hodaida, which it was estimated to reach on May 20, ship tracking data
on Reuters showed. (Additional reporting by Keith Wallis in Singapore, Editing
by David Goodman and Dominic Evans, Larry King)
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