Greek Tanker Hit By Naval Mine In Saudi Arabia

Aframax crude oil tanker AGRARI on Nov 25 was reportedly hit by a blast and suffered hull breach above waterline in Red sea at Al Shuqaiq, Saudi Arabia, while being at anchor or moored at terminal.

The company said the vessel was attacked by an unknown source while at berth in Shuqaiq in Saudi Arabia after it had completed discharging and was preparing to depart.

According to global reports, it was struck about one meter above the waterline and suffered a breach. The reports say no crew members were injured.

The ship that had cargo from the Dutch port city of Rotterdam did not sink and Saudi officials went on board for inspections.

A mine in the Red Sea off Saudi Arabia's coast near Yemen exploded and damaged an oil tanker Wednesday, authorities said, the latest incident targeting the kingdom amid its long war against Yemen's Houthi rebels. A few hours after the incident, state TV reported that Saudi-led coalition forces were destroying an explosives-laden boat and a commercial vessel was damaged in the process.

The US Navy's 5th Fleet, responsible for patrolling the waterways of the Mideast, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The incident wasn't at a crude oil export facility and will nearly certainly have zero effect Saudi Arabia's capacity to produce or export oil. Saudi-owned channels later aired reports about Houthi mining in the Red Sea.

A Saudi-led coalition fighting Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen said Tuesday they destroyed five Houthi mines in the Red Sea, according to Saudi state-run Al-Ekhbariya TV.

Yemen's Houthi group on Monday claimed a strike on a Saudi Aramco petroleum products distribution plant in Jeddah. The strait is some 585 kilometres (363 miles) south of Shuqaiq.

Houthi leader Muhammed Ali Houthi did not explicitly deny the attack, but said in a tweet that any military or security operations are announced through military and security establishments officially.

The Red Sea is a vital shipping lane for both cargo and the world's energy supplies. In 1984, some 19 ships reported striking mines there, with only one ever being recovered and disarmed, the United Nations panel said.