Oil tanker hit in Iraqi waters, as vessels get caught in US-Iran attacks
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An Iranian crude oil carrier identified as M/T Riesco burns as it sinks after being struck, which U.S. Central Command says it targeted after attempted Iranian missile attacks on a U.S. Navy warship over the past two days, at a location given as the Gulf
Sept 9 (Reuters) - A tanker carrying about 2 million barrels of Iraqi fuel oil was struck by a drone in Iraqi territorial waters on Wednesday, port officials said, and British navy-affiliated UKMTO reported that several merchant vessels in the Gulf had been hit by disabling fire overnight.
A fire broke out aboard the Panama-flagged oil tanker New Andros after it was hit in Iraqi waters at around 6 a.m. (0300 GMT) on Wednesday, two Iraqi port officials told Reuters.
There were no reports of casualties among the 22 crew members, the officials added.
Iraq's oil ministry said in a statement later on Wednesday that the vessel, which was used to store fuel oil and was chartered by the Iraqi Oil Tankers Company, had been struck by an unknown source, causing minor damage to its hull.
The ministry confirmed there were no injuries among the vessel crew and no leakage of its cargo into the water.
The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations agency had said earlier that vessels in the northern Gulf and Gulf of Oman were hit by disabling fire during military activity in the region overnight.
It added that it was unable to confirm any casualties or environmental impact.
Separately, UKMTO reported another incident on Wednesday, 24 nautical miles from Port Rashid, in the United Arab Emirates. It said a vessel was sighted listing while at anchor, possibly indicating it had taken on water following an attack by an unknown projectile.
Iran said on Wednesday it had attacked 10 ships near the Strait of Hormuz after the U.S. sank five Iranian oil tankers, in the biggest declared wave of tit-for-tat attacks on shipping by both sides since the start of the six-month-old war.
(Reporting by Aref Mohammed in Basra, Ahmed Rahseed in Baghdad and Jana Choukeir in Dubai, Yomna Ehab and Ahmed Tolba in Cairo; Writing by Nayera Abdallah; Editing by Andrew Heavens and Alex Richardson)
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