BAGHDAD (AP) – An Iraqi explosives-handling team is working to neutralize a “large” mine discovered in an oil tanker in the Persian Gulf and evacuate its crew, officials said on Friday.
The statement came a day after two private security companies said that sailors feared they had found a limpet mine on MT Pola, a Liberian-flag tanker in the waters of the Iraqi port of Basra. A limpet mine is a type of naval mine that is attached to the side of a ship, usually by a diver who is a member of the special forces. Later, it explodes and can significantly damage a vessel.
The Iraqi statement said the mine was attached to a leased tanker from SOMO from Iraq Oil Marketing Company, which was refueling another vessel. Iraq’s naval forces are making “a great effort to carry out the mission” safely, said the Iraqi Security Media Cell, which is affiliated with the country’s security forces.
It was the first official Iraqi confirmation that a mine was discovered on an Iraqi tanker transferring fuel in the Persian Gulf to another ship. He did not identify the ships or provide further details.
The discovery came amid mounting tensions between Iran and the United States in the last days of President Donald Trump’s administration.
The United States has already flown B-52 bombers and sent a nuclear submarine to the Persian Gulf about what Trump officials describe as the possibility of an Iranian attack on the one-year anniversary of the American drone attack in Baghdad, which killed one important Iranian general and an important leader of the Iraqi militia.
Iraq is celebrating its anniversary with a series of events this week.
On Thursday, United Kingdom Marine Trade Operations, an organization under the British Royal Navy, said on its website that an “unknown object” was attached to the hull of a ship near the Iraqi port of Khor Al-Zubair, without providing more information.
Pola serves as floating storage for fuel oil for the Iraqi State Petroleum Marketing Organization, said Sudharsan Sarathy, senior oil analyst at data analysis firm Refinitiv. Smaller vessels carry fuel oil to the ship, which then transfers from ship to ship in the Persian Gulf for customers.
Sarathy said Pola was making a ship-to-ship transfer with MT Nordic Freedom, a Bermuda-flag tanker.
Friday’s statement said an Iraqi Ministry of Interior’s explosives-handling team was flown to the scene after a “foreign body” was observed attached to one of the ships in the waiting area in Iraq’s international waters. , 28 nautical miles from Iraqi oil ports.
Despite the high waves, the vessel that received the fuel was evacuated while the Iraqi team was still working on neutralizing the mine and evacuating the refueling vessel, he said.
In 2019, the United States blamed Iran for a series of lapa mine attacks on oil tankers near the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf where 20% of all the world’s oil passes. Iran denies being involved.