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Japanese tanker damaged off Oman, cause unclear
MUSCAT/TOKYO (Reuters) -- A Japanese oil tanker damaged in an explosion in the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world's most important shipping lanes, was being diverted to a port in the UAE on Wednesday.One of the 31 crew aboard was injured but no oil leaked from the M Star very large crude carrier (VLCC), according to the Japanese transport ministry. It said an explosion occurred onboard at around 00:30 a.m. local time (2030 GMT Tuesday), but the cause was unclear. "A crew member saw light on the horizon just before the explosion, so (ship owner Mitsui O.S.K.) believes there is a possibility it was caused by an outside attack," Japan's ministry said in a statement. Oman's coastguard said there was no evidence of any attack on the tanker and instead cited an earthquake. I didn't know earthquakes occured on water. "The boat was hit by a tremor ...we have no information of an attack," an Omani coastguard official told Reuters. I put this in Non-WOT because it's unclear if this was an attack. Posted by: Deacon Blues 2010-07-28 |
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