Saudi Arabia: Terrorist attack on fuel transport ship

Riyadh - 'The incident did not result in any casualties, and there was no damage caused to the unloading facilities'

An official spokesman at the Saudi Ministry of Energy said that a fuel transport ship, anchored in the fuel terminal in Jeddah, was attacked by an explosive-laden boat in the early hours of this morning.

According to the Saudi Press Agency (SPA), the attack resulted in a small fire, which emergency units successfully extinguished. The incident did not result in any casualties, and there was no damage caused to the unloading facilities, nor any effect on supplies.

The spokesman condemned the terrorist attack, which came shortly after other attacks on another ship in Al Shuqaiq, on the petroleum products distribution station in north Jeddah, and on the floating unloading platform of the petroleum products distribution station in Jizan.

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 and the global economy, he stressed.

The spokesman emphasised the seriousness of such criminal acts and their destructive impact on maritime traffic, the security of petroleum exports, and the freedom of global trade.

The spokesman highlighted the threat to coastal and regional waters and the risk of major environmental disasters that could result from the leakage of petroleum or petroleum products.

The spokesman urged the world, now more than ever, to stand together against such subversive terrorist acts, and take practical deterrent measures against all terrorist perpetrators that implement and enable them.

The blast rocked a Singapore-flagged oil tanker, the vessel’s owner said.

All 22 sailors aboard the tanker BW Rhine escaped unhurt after the blast struck just after midnight, Singapore-based shipping company Hafnia said, but it did not exclude the possibility of an oil spill.

No group has so far claimed responsibility for what marks the latest in a string of attacks on Saudi energy sector targets, but it comes as Iran-backed Houthi rebels in neighbouring Yemen step up cross-border strikes against Saudi Arabia.