Mitsui O.S.K. Inspects Tanker After Possible Attack
July 29, 2010, 3:15 AM EDTBy Chris Cooper
(Updates with Port of Fujairah comment in second paragraph.)
July 29 (Bloomberg) -- Mitsui O.S.K. Lines Ltd. began inspecting an oil tanker after an explosion that may have been caused by an attack near the Strait of Hormuz, deemed by the U.S. to be the most important chokepoint for oil supplies.
The M. Star, a very large crude carrier, is anchored off Fujairah in the United Arab Emirates, Masahiko Hibino, the company’s tanker safety head, told reporters today in Tokyo. He declined to comment on whether pirates could have caused the blast.
The vessel may have been involved in a collision, Moosa Murad, general manager at the Port of Fujairah, said by phone today. The Strait of Hormuz connects the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman and is a transit point for tankers hauling oil from producers including Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Iraq and Kuwait.
Mitsui, operator of the world’s second-largest oil-tanker fleet, said 10 people are working on the investigation, which is being aided by the U.S. and the U.K. It’s unclear how long it will take, Hibino said.
The crew haven’t been able to say if any other vessels were near them at the time of the incident, Murad said. Both Murad and Hibino said it was unlikely that a wave caused the damage.
The explosion, which “may have been caused by an external attack,” occurred at 5:30 a.m. Tokyo time yesterday, injuring one of the crew, Mitsui said in a statement.
The tanker, anchored about 10 miles off Fujairah, will likely remain there for three to four days, Murad said.
Hormuz Traffic
As much as 17 million barrels of oil a day passed through the Strait of Hormuz in the first half of 2008, equal to about 40 percent of all seaborne-traded oil, according to estimates of the U.S. Energy Information Administration, part of the Energy Department. Located between Oman and Iran, the strait is 21 miles wide at its narrowest point. Most of the oil goes to Asia, the U.S. and Western Europe, the EIA says.
There haven’t been any reported piracy attacks in the northern Gulf of Oman since October last year, according to data from the International Maritime Bureau in London.
A pirate attack at this time of year would be “difficult” because of rough seas caused by monsoons, Cyrus Mody, an IMB official, said yesterday.
Mitsui, based in Tokyo, fell 0.5 percent to 602 yen in trading in the city today. Separately, the company raised its full-year profit forecast on rebounding world trade.
The company operates an oil-tanker fleet with a carrying capacity of 15.4 million deadweight tons, second only to Frontline Ltd.’s 16.8 million deadweight tons, according to data on its website.
--With assistance from Anthony Dipaola in Dubai, Editors: Neil Denslow, Suresh Seshadri
To contact the reporter on this story: Chris Cooper in Tokyo at ccooper1@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Neil Denslow at ndenslow@bloomberg.net
