Graphic: Helios Ray ship:
Reuters
A Bahamas-flagged vessel, MV HELIOS RAY, was hit by an explosion in the Gulf of Oman on Thursday, said UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) and a maritime security company on Friday.
The cause of the explosion is not clear.
“Investigations are ongoing. The ship and the crew are safe,” said the UKMTO warning, advising ships in the area to be careful.
The incident occurred at 2040 GMT, he said, but gave no details of a possible cause.
Maritime safety company Dryad Global said MV HELIOS RAY was a carrier for vehicles owned by Helios Ray Ltd, an Israeli company registered on the Isle of Man. The ship was en route to Singapore from Dammam, Saudi Arabia.
An Israeli Transport Ministry spokesman said he had no information about an Israeli ship being hit in the Gulf.
A company with the name Helios Ray Ltd is incorporated in the Isle of Man. The ship was managed by Stamco Ship Management, Refinitiv’s ship tracking data showed. Stamco Ship Management declined to comment when contacted by telephone by Reuters.
“While the details of the incident remain unclear, there remains a realistic possibility that the event was the result of asymmetric activity by the Iranian military,” said Dryad in a report on the incident.
Refinitiv data shows that the ship defined Dubai as its current destination.
The US Navy Fifth Fleet, based in Bahrain, said it was aware of the incident and monitored the situation.
Tensions have escalated in the Gulf region since the United States re-imposed sanctions on Iran in 2018, after then President Donald Trump withdrew Washington from Tehran’s nuclear deal with major powers.
Washington blamed Iran for a series of attacks on ships in strategic Gulf waters, including four ships, including two Saudi oil tankers, in May 2019. Iran has distanced itself from these attacks.
In early January, Iran’s Revolutionary Guard seized a South Korean flag tanker in Gulf waters and detained its crew amid tensions between Tehran and the US ally Seoul over Iranian funds frozen in South American banks. Koreans due to American sanctions.
In 2018, 21 million barrels of oil per day flowed across the Gulf Strait of Hormuz, equivalent to about 21% of the global demand for petroleum liquids at the time, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.