Two oil tankers have been attacked near Iraq, with at least one crew\nmember reported dead.<\/p>\n
According to detikNews on Thursday, 12 March 2026, Farhan Al-Fartousi\nfrom the General Company of Iraqi Ports told Iraqi state television that\none crew member was killed and 38 people were rescued. Meanwhile,\n\u201csearch operations continue to locate those missing\u201d.<\/p>\n
Fartousi did not specify the nationalities of the crew members or\ndetails about those behind the attack. Citing Al Arabiya and AFP,\nIranian government media told the Iraqi national news agency INA that\n\u201ctwo oil tankers became targets of sabotage\u201d.<\/p>\n
The Iraqi Ministry of Oil expressed \u201cdeep concern\u201d over the incident\ninvolving oil tankers in the Gulf without providing further details.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe safety of navigation in international maritime corridors and\nenergy supply routes must remain free from regional conflict,\u201d the\nministry added in its official statement today.<\/p>\n
The Strait of Hormuz \u2013 a waterway that carries one-fifth of global\noil \u2013 remains closed to nearly all oil tankers, and Iran has vowed that\nnot a single litre of oil will be exported from the Gulf as long as war\nwith the United States and Israel continues.<\/p>\n
US President Donald Trump stated on Wednesday, 11 March, that\nAmerican forces have attacked 28 Iranian mine-laying vessels, more than\na week after Middle Eastern conflict began.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, an employee at the Basra oil terminal in Iraq told AFP\nthat it remained unclear \u201cwhether it was a drone attack or a ship loaded\nwith explosives\u201d.<\/p>\n
The Iraqi National Organisation for Oil Marketing (SOMO) stated that\ntwo oil tankers were attacked without detailing how the attack\noccurred.<\/p>\n
SOMO identified the Maltese-flagged oil tanker ZEFYROS as being\nattacked whilst preparing to enter the Khor Al-Zoubair port, where it\nwas to load an additional 30,000 tonnes of liquid naphtha used in the\npetrochemical industry.<\/p>\n
The second vessel targeted, SAFESEA VISHNU, was sailing under the\nMarshall Islands flag and was chartered by an Iraqi company, according\nto SOMO.<\/p>\n
The incident occurred only hours after the United States Embassy in\nBaghdad warned that Iran and Tehran-backed Iraqi armed groups may target\nUS-owned oil facilities in Iraq.<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/fatal-attack-near-iraq-two-oil-tankers-engulfed-in-flames-1773309149", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }