UAE Says Four Vessels Subjected to 'Sabotage' Near Fujairah Port

Four commercial vessels were targeted by "sabotage operations" near the territorial waters of the United Arab Emirates without causing casualties, the foreign ministry said on Sunday in a statement tweeted by state news agency WAM.

The incident occurred near the UAE emirate of Fujairah, one of the world's largest bunkering hubs that lies just outside the Strait of Hormuz, it said. The strait is a vital oil and natural gas corridor for the global energy market.

"Subjecting commercial vessels to sabotage operations and threatening the lives of their crew is considered a dangerous development," the statement said.

UAE Says Four Vessels Subjected to 'Sabotage' Near Fujairah Port

Sputnik is reporting that US and French warplanes were seen flying over the location at the time of the explosions.

The blasts were heard between 4:00 a.m. and 7:00 a.m. local time (00:00 — 03:00 GMT), the broadcaster reported, adding that from seven to 10 oil tankers were in flames. The broadcaster continued by saying that the real cause of the incident has still been unknown.

Other reports, citing eyewitnesses, suggested that American and French warplanes have been seen flying over the port at the time of the incident.

Lebanon-Based Media Claims Blasts Rock Fujairah Port, UAE Officials Deny Reports

It looks like no casualties or oil spills were caused by the explosions according to some reports. It is being reported that up to ten oil tankers were on fire.

The blasts were heard between 4 am and 7 am local time (00:00 - 03:00 GMT), the Al-Mayadeen broadcaster reported, adding that from seven to 10 oil tankers were in flames.

Several explosions hit UAE port of Fujairah

How can ten oil tankers be on fire and there are no oil spills or casualties, I hope this is the truth somehow.

ETA: Looks like the ships were cargo ships and not tankers. It is early and reports are still foggy. No US media I found reporting on this yet. Here is the best video showing the fires that I could find.



Very foggy but oil tankers may have been involved.

Despite the UAE government’s denial, witnesses have emphasized that the blasts have taken place and some media sources have even went further, identifying a number of oil tankers hit by the explosions by their hull numbers as follows:

AMJAD tanker
No.: 9779800

Marzouqah tanker
No.: 9165762

Miraj oil tanker
No.: 9394741

A.MICHEL oil tanker
No.: 9177674

FNSA10 oil tanker
No.: 9432074

Massive explosions reported at UAE port

Hard to tell right now what happened...

Sounds to me are like the usual “CIA black-op” to blame all on Iranian military and their IRGC activities thus milking the UAE/Saudis for their protections and justifying the American military presence.

What else can be…?

a reply to: LookingAtMars

Two reports from UAE today - 1st was a false report about tankers on fire.
2. The incident did not result in spills and the identities/nationalities of ships not yet released

Iran commander calls U.S. military in Gulf a target not a threat: ISNA 😲

“If (the Americans) make a move we will hit them in the head,” he added, according to ISNA.

🔥

Could just be Iranian propaganda bs.

Uh, this just in...
UAE Confirms Four of its Ships Were “Sabotaged”

The foreign ministry of the United Arab Emirates reported a sabotage operation near Fujairah port.

Previously, Fujairah port officials denied the occurrence of explosions but in the afternoon the media outlets reported that four commercial ships in the east of Fujairah port in Oman Sea were targeted with a sabotage operation.

originally posted by: Qboneq
Sounds to me are like the usual “CIA black-op”

Oh please enlighten us, why?

originally posted by: Qboneq
Sounds to me are like the usual “CIA black-op” to blame all on Iranian military and their IRGC activities thus milking the UAE/Saudis for their protections and justifying the American military presence.

What else can be…?

If you wanted to cause a stir in that area the Strait of Hormuz would be a bad choice because it is so narrow that fires would block oil traffic.

Somewhere near the Strait of Hormuz like the Fujairah port / Oman Sea would not block oil traffic. Guess we will have to wait and see.

a reply to: LookingAtMars

Many countries in that region fly American and French built aircraft, including Iran(no, I don't think they had anything to do with it, simply pointing it out). Last year tensions with Qatar ramped up, especially after a prince from the UAE fled there.

a reply to: Zaphod58

Good point if they were identified as French and US by the shape. They could have been identified by the markings or there could have been no planes at all.

a reply to: Qboneq
It could very well be Iranian/houthi operation. The Iranian proxy militia Allah ansar, commonly known as the houthi openly threatened the uae last year, have already fire missiles towards abu Dhabi at the end of 2018 as well. This coupled with irans threats against its neighbors would imo connect the irgc and their proxy militias in this sabotage.

a reply to: LookingAtMars

The chances of seeing markings on an aircraft at that altitude, and that speed, are not good without something to help you. And if they had something like a camera with a good lens on it, where are the pics? They took the time to tell a reporter what they saw, so they could have turned over pics if they had them. It's far more likely they were identified by the planform, if they were there.

a reply to: Zaphod58

How do you know what altitude they were at, was it in one of the news stories?

It is being reported as sabotage. If the planes were involved they would report it as an attack, no matter whos planes they were. I would also surmise if aircraft were involved their munitions would do a lot more damage than sabotage.

originally posted by: worldstarcountry
a reply to: Qboneq
It could very well be Iranian/houthi operation. The Iranian proxy militia Allah ansar, commonly known as the houthi openly threatened the uae last year, have already fire missiles towards abu Dhabi at the end of 2018 as well. This coupled with irans threats against its neighbors would imo connect the irgc and their proxy militias in this sabotage.

It could have been Iranian, there were other explosions in the area recently. From a link in the OP.

Earlier this week, a number of powerful explosions rocked Saudi Arabia’s port city of Yanbu’, an important petroleum shipping terminal for the kingdom. Reports, however, fell short of giving any reason for the blasts or possible casualties.

originally posted by: crayzeed
It is being reported as sabotage. If the planes were involved they would report it as an attack, no matter whos planes they were. I would also surmise if aircraft were involved their munitions would do a lot more damage than sabotage.

Because the media never gets it wrong

a reply to: LookingAtMars

No, I know the most likely weapons that would have been used and the tactics. There's no need for them to come down below 5-6,000 feet to release their weapons, if even that low. The only reason to come down low is visual confirmation of a target, and the targeting pods carried by the most likely aircraft that would have been used make that unnecessary.

a reply to: crayzeed

A Small Diameter Bomb is 250 pounds. Drop one of those alongside a ship and you could do enough damage to knock it out, without doing major damage.

a reply to: Zaphod58

That does make a lot of sense, thanks.

Still Shocked the US response is silence so far. You would think Iran targetting 4 commercial ships in UAE would be headline news around the world. No small operation to get men on board each ship and deliberately sabotage. Surely US intelligence are having meetings about this right now?

If was not done by Iran then there bad actors at play in the region and they are trying to start a war.

originally posted by: Jesushere
Still Shocked the US response is silence so far. You would think Iran targetting 4 commercial ships in UAE would be headline news around the world. No small operation to get men on board each ship and deliberately sabotage. Surely US intelligence are having meetings about this right now?

If was not done by Iran then there bad actors at play in the region and they are trying to start a war.

For all we know, a Saudi Prince or two went around paying crew members to sabotage their own ships. Either to weaken the King, or stir up the region.

originally posted by: mightmight

originally posted by: Qboneq
Sounds to me are like the usual “CIA black-op”

Oh please enlighten us, why?

You already know the answer.

It's because something happened somewhere that is important to us right now. If one party does something to another in the region, it was really us pulling the puppet strings the entire time.