A supertanker loaded with 270,000 metric tons of crude oil was attacked early Wednesday morning off the coast of Oman, the vessel's manager said.
A supertanker loaded with 270,000 metric tons of crude oil was attacked
early Wednesday morning off the coast of
Oman
, the
vessel's manager said.
The incident, the second against a tanker in the region in 24 hours, comes
after unrest in
Egypt
rekindled concerns over the reliability of oil transit in the Middle-East and
East
Africa
.
The owners of the vessel, Greece-based N.S. Lemos & Co., said separately
that it was hijacked.
Twenty-five crew members were on board, including seven Greek nationals, 17
Filipinos and one Georgian, according to a statement from
Greece
's
Enesel SA, which manages the ship.
"All the appropriate authorities have been contacted and made aware of the
situation, including the
Flag
State
and
the counter-piracy coordination force" it said. It was referring to the
European Union Naval Force
Somalia
, or
EUNAVFOR, which confirmed the hijacking.
The vessel was headed to the U.S. Gulf Coast from Mina Al Ahmadi,
Kuwait
,
according to the statement. It was attacked at 0732 GMT.
The Very Large Crude Carrier Irene SL has a crew of 25, mostly Greek and
Filipino, and has ceased all communications with its owners, according to
EUNAVFOR.
Mohamad Al Shatti, manager for the office of the chief executive at Kuwait
Petroleum Corp., denied reports by shipbrokers that it had chartered the ship. "The
hijacked vessel was not chartered by KPC; there is no relation," he told
Zawya Dow Jones.
EUNAVFOR said separately that Italian-flagged oil tanker MV Savina Caylin was
hijacked 670 nautical miles East of Socotra Island in the
Indian
Ocean
in the early hours of Tuesday.
The vessel, which has a deadweight of 104,255 metric tons, was on passage from
Sudan
to
Malaysia
when
it was attacked, it said.
Political unrest in
Egypt
in recent
weeks led to fears oil routes crossing the country--including the
Suez
canal
--could be disrupted, pushing oil prices above $100 a barrel. But the
transit through the North African country has so far suffered no disruptions.
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