A tanker was attacked in the Saudi Arabian port Jeddah, in what the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) is calling a “terrorist attack”.
A boat laden with explosives struck the BW Rhine while the ship was discharging at approximately 12:40 AM local time on 14 December. The SPA reported that there were no casualties or disruptions to oil supply.
This comes three weeks after an oil tanker was damaged in Shuqaiq, and Yemen’s Houthi rebels claimed responsibility for a missile strike on a Jeddah fuel depot.
“These acts of terrorism and vandalism, directed against vital installations, go beyond the kingdom and its vital facilities, to the security and stability of energy supplies to the world,” SPA said.
Hafnia, the owner and operator of the Singapore-flagged vessel, said that a fire was extinguished without any injuries. “It is possible that some oil has escape from the vessel,” it wrote in a press statement. “But this has not been confirmed and instrumentation currently indicates that oil levels on board are at the same level as before the incident.”
