Two crude oil tanker vessels collided and at least one caught fire early Tuesday in an area of the Persian Gulf that is seeing disruptions of ship navigation systems.
The tanker Adalynn, a “dark fleet” ship with no recognized insurance registered in Antigua and Barbuda, collided Tuesday with the Liberia-flagged Front Eagle about 24 miles off Khor Fakkan, United Arab Emirates, south of the Strait of Hormuz.
A fire broke out on the deck of the Front Eagle, operator Frontline (NYSE: FRO) confirmed in published reports, which was transporting 2 million barrels of Iraqi crude oil to China. There were no injuries, and 24 crew were evacuated by the UAE Coast Guard.
The 900-foot Adalynn, owned by Global Shipping Holding Ltd. of India, was sailing without cargo toward the Suez Canal in Egypt, reports stated.
The area has seen a recent surge of interference in GPS and other ship navigation systems. The UK-based Maritime Trade Operations monitor said Tuesday that there was no evidence hostile activity caused the tanker collision but advised vessels transiting the region to use caution.
This week the multinational Combined Maritime Force’s JMIC information center led by the United States said it had received reports of electronic interference near the port of Bandar Abbas in Iran and in the Gulf region.
In May GPS interference, or spoofing, was suspected after the container ship MSC Antonia ran aground near Saudi Arabia’s Jeddah Port in the Red Sea.
The Strait of Hormuz, the narrow Persian Gulf maritime gateway controlled by Iran, has come under scrutiny since Israel and Iran began exchanging missile salvos since Friday.
Iran has threatened to close the strait, a chokepoint for one-fifth of the world’s oil and gas supply, in an effort to pressure the United States and other nations to force Israel to halt its military assault.
Find more articles by Stuart Chirls here.
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