Saudi Arabia’s energy minister said on Monday that two Saudi tankers were targeted in a “sabotage attack” off the coast of the United Arab Emirates, the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported.
Khalid Al-Falih said the two tankers were targeted off the coast of Fujairah. He explained that one tanker was en route to the kingdom to be loaded with Saudi crude oil to send to the United States to supply Saudi Aramco customers.
“Fortunately, the attack didn’t lead to any casualties or oil spill; however, it caused significant damage to the structures of the two vessels,” Al-Falih said.
Al-Falih’s comments came as the US issued a new warning to sailors and the UAE’s regional allies condemned the reported sabotage of four ships off the coast of Fujairah.
The UAE foreign ministry had reported on Sunday that four commercial vessels were targeted near its territorial waters.
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The foreign ministry released a statement saying that the vessels - targeted at a distance of 115 kilometers from Iran - were “civilian trading vessels of various nationalities”, and that the UAE was investigating the incident with local and international bodies.
Rumors about ships inside the port being sabotaged were unfounded, the ministry added.
The port of Fujairah continues to operate as normal and there were no victims of the sabotage incident.
The ministry added that targeting merchant ships and threatening the lives of crew members is a “dangerous development,” and that the government considers the acts of sabotage to be a threat to the safety and security of the UAE.
This article has been adapted from its original source.
