ISLAMABAD: A fire aboard the Kuwaiti crude oil tanker ‘Al Salmi’ was extinguished after the vessel was struck while anchored at Dubai port, in an incident that has heightened concern over the widening risks to commercial shipping in Gulf waters amid the regional war.
Dubai authorities said maritime firefighting teams brought the blaze under control and that all 24 crew members were safe, with no injuries reported.
The attack was first confirmed by Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC), whose statement was carried by Kuwait’s state news agency KUNA. KPC said the tanker had been hit in what it described as an Iranian attack while anchored in Dubai, causing hull damage and a fire onboard, and warned of a possible oil spill in surrounding waters.
Reuters also reported that work was under way to assess the extent of the damage.
The Al Salmi was carrying around 2 million barrels of oil from Kuwait and Saudi Arabia and was bound for Qingdao, China, according to shipping data cited by Reuters.
The strike immediately rattled energy markets, with Brent crude briefly rising above $115 a barrel in early Asian trade before easing later.
The tanker incident came amid a broader pattern of attacks on merchant shipping in the Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz since the start of the current conflict.
Earlier the same day, a Greek-owned container ship off Saudi Arabia’s Ras Tanura had also reported two projectiles splashing into the water nearby, though no injuries or damage were reported there.
No group immediately claimed responsibility for the strike on Al Salmi, and Iranian officials did not immediately comment. But the episode is likely to intensify already acute concerns over the safety of one of the world’s most strategically important energy and shipping corridors
