Massive explosions reported at UAE port
Powerful explosions have been reported in the Emirati port of al-Fujairah, where seven oil tankers are said to have caught fire.
The blasts took place early on Sunday morning, according to the Lebanon-based Al Mayadeen television channel, which reported the development hours later.
It said the seven oil tankers were completely burnt and that firefighters were still trying to extinguish the blaze.
Some social media activists said that American and French aircraft of unspecified type were flying over the port.
Al Mayadeen did not say what had caused the explosions or the fire.
Later, the media office of the government of Fujairah denied the report of the explosions altogether, saying that transit and other activities at the port were underway as usual. Additionally, Brigadier Ali Obaid al-Taniji, the director of the department of civil defense in Fujairah, told the Emarat al-Youm daily that there had been no fire or explosion at the port.
Despite the UAE government’s denial, witnesses have emphasized that the blasts have taken place and some media sources have even went further, identifying a number of oil tankers hit by the explosions by their hull numbers as follows:
AMJAD tanker
No.: 9779800
Marzouqah tanker
No.: 9165762
Miraj oil tanker
No.: 9394741
A.MICHEL oil tanker
No.: 9177674
FNSA10 oil tanker
No.: 9432074
UAE: Four commercial vessels targeted by "sabotage"
Later on Sunday, the Foreign Ministry of the United Arab Emirates issued a statement, saying that four commercial vessels have been targeted by "sabotage operations" near its territorial waters.
The statement added that there were no victims, but fell short of giving any details on possible damage to commercial vessels, their nationally and possible casualties.
The ministry statement was tweeted by the official news agency WAM.
#عاجل_وام |
— وكالة أنباء الإمارات (@wamnews) May 12, 2019
الخارجية : تعرض أربع سفن تجارية لعمليات تخريبية قرب المياه الإقليمية للدولة ولا أضرار بشرية pic.twitter.com/YOALCsIpDM
Earlier this week, a number of powerful explosions rocked Saudi Arabia’s port city of Yanbu’, an important petroleum shipping terminal for the kingdom. Reports, however, fell short of giving any reason for the blasts or possible casualties.
No further details have been made available up to this moment and no group or individual has assumed responsibility for the blasts.
Yanbu' is an important petroleum shipping terminal for Saudi Arabia and home to three oil refineries, a plastics facility and several other petrochemical plants.
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