DUBAI (Reuters) – An Israeli ship hit by an explosion on the strategic waterway in the Gulf of Oman has reached a port in Dubai, where it is expected to be assessed in a dry dock.
MV Helios Ray, a vehicle carrier, was struck overnight between Thursday and Friday by an explosion above the waterline that a US defense official said had made holes in both sides of the hull.
Israel’s defense minister said on Saturday that an initial assessment found that Iran was responsible for the explosion. There were no immediate comments from the Iranian authorities.
The blue and white ship is now moored at Dubai’s Rashid Port, having sailed from its position off the coast of Muscat, the capital of Oman, where the explosion occurred.
The Gulf of Oman connects to the waters of the Gulf through the strategically important Strait of Hormuz, a narrow passage between Iran and Oman where almost a fifth of the world’s oil flows.
An Israeli delegation was on its way to Dubai to investigate the incident, the Israeli Channel 13 News reported on Saturday.
A spokesman for Dubai’s state-owned port operator DP World, which owns and operates the dry docks, said on Sunday that the ship was due to arrive on Monday for evaluation.
MV Helios Ray is owned by Ray Shipping Ltd, Tel Aviv, through a company registered on the Isle of Man, shows a UN shipping database.
Tensions have increased in the Gulf region since the United States re-imposed sanctions on Iran in 2018, after then President Donald Trump withdrew from Tehran’s nuclear deal with the major powers in 2015.
Washington has since blamed Iran for a series of attacks on ships in Gulf waters, including two Saudi oil tankers. Iran has distanced itself from these attacks.
(Reporting by Abdelhadi Ramahi in Dubai and Alexander Cornwell; Writing by Lisa Barrington; Editing by William Mallard and David Goodman)