Tanker reports external explosion off Oman coast, crew safe, UKMTO says

This satellite picture from Planet Labs PBC shows the Greek-flagged oil tanker Sounion burning in the Red Sea after being attacked by Yemen's Houthi rebels on Tuesday, Sept. 3, 2024. (Planet Labs PBC via AP)

DUBAI - United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations said on Tuesday that a tanker had reported an external explosion on the vessel’s port side, close to the waterline, 60 nautical miles off Oman’s capital Muscat.

UKMTO said the vessel, identified as the Olympic Life, and its crew were safe, although the tanker reported some bunker fuel had been discharged into the sea. It said the cause of the incident was unknown.

According to MarineTraffic vessel-tracking data, the Greek-owned Very Large Crude Carrier was sailing past Muscat at around 0700 GMT, heading out of the Gulf of Oman, and was not carrying cargo.

The vessel is owned by Athens-based Olympic Shipping & Management, the successor to Olympic Management founded by late shipping magnate Aristotle Onassis, according to the Onassis Foundation’s website.

The company was not immediately available for comment.

Ahmed Elimam and Jana Choukeir; Additional reporting by Nerijus Adomaitis in Oslo; Editing by Bernadette Baum and Alison Williams, Reuter