Έκρηξη Ιρανικού τάνκερ SABITI ανοιχτά της Jeddah || 11.10.2019

[Ssiap21]

Άρθρο στην Tradewinds αναφέρει ότι το 160dwt τάνκερ Sabiti (χτισμένο το 1991) χτυπήθηκε από δύο πυραύλους 95 km ανοιχτά της Jeddah στη Σαουδική Αραβία. Σύμφωνα με την πλοιοκτήτρια NITC,  το πλήρωμα είναι ασφαλές. 

Και ένα λίνκ στα ελληνικά για το γεγονός

Συμπληρωματικό του παραπάνω ποστ.

Εκπρόσωπος της εταιρίας είπε στην Ιρανική τηλεόραση ότι το πλοίο χτυπήθηκε απ' την πλευρά της Σαουδικής Αραβίας και ότι δεν προσφέρθηκε καμία βοήθεια από άλλη χώρα προς το πλοίο. 

Ενδιαφέρον έχει τι θα γίνει με την την τιμή του πετρελαίου

Δεύτερο άρθρο στην Tradewinds. 

Quote

Iranian retaliation is seen as inevitable following the attack on an NITC suezmax off Saudi Arabia, with war risk costs set to spike.

China, the major Iranian crude buyer, urged restraint after reported missile strikes off Jeddah on Friday left the 160,000-dwt Sabiti (built 1999) damaged and leaking oil into the Red Sea.

 

Iranian officials have said the strikes likely came from the direction of Saudi Arabia.

Lawyer Stephen Askins, a partner at Tatham & Co, told TradeWinds that it was interesting the incident happened so near to Saudi Arabia, which will "no doubt be exposed to the pollution."

He added that Iran "will undoubtedly seek to react and retaliate. Although this could be seen as a retaliation for the original Iranian attacks. Won’t do much to calm tensions in the region though."

Security consultancy Dryad Global said: "It is likely that Iran will wish to respond to this event. Therefore the threat to Saudi-flagged vessels within the Strait of Hormuz is assessed as being high."

It added: "At his time the risk to non-Saudi-flagged vessels is unclear; however vessels of states aligned with the US Sentinel operation are assessed to be at heightened risk without specific threat.

 

"Vessels should remain proactive in ensuring their security and should engage thoroughly with local security and/or naval forces should this be required. In addition, when transiting geo-politically sensitive waters, it is vital that geo-positioning is confirmed through failsafe methods to avoid any potential incident as a result of falsified GPS."

Shift in the narrative

 

The attack marks a big potential change in the narrative of recent events in the Middle East Gulf, in which Iran has been seen as the aggressor, being blamed for mine or missile strikes against six overseas tankers in two separate incidents, and the drone attack on Saudi oil facilities in September that was claimed by Yemen's Houthi rebels.

Add in the summer saga involving the tit-for-tat arrests of Grace 1 and Stena Impero in a sanctions row involving Iran, the UK, the US, Syria and the EU, and the potential implications are complicated and far-reaching.

All sides have stressed they want to avoid conflict, however.

TIMELINE OF TERROR

May 10: US warns of potential Iranian attacks on ships in the Gulf

May 12: Four tankers suffer explosions just outside Strait of Hormuz, blamed on Iran

June 13: Two more tankers attacked south of Hormuz

June 20: Iran shoots down an unmanned US drone

July 4: UK forces seize Iranian VLCC Grace 1 in Gibraltar

July 10: UK thwarts Iranian approach to BP tanker in Gulf

July 19: Iran seizes Stena Impero tanker

August 15: Gibraltar releases Grace 1

September 14: Houthis claim responsibility drone attacks on Saudi Aramco oil plants

September 27: Iran releases Stena Impero

The US Navy's Fifth Fleet, which operates in the region, said it was aware of media reports about the tanker, but did not have any further information.

A Chinese foreign ministry spokesman said the government hoped all parties would work to uphold peace and stability in the region.

Saudi Arabia has not responded.

Riskier business

 

Oil prices jumped above $60 per barrel in London following Friday's attack.

Ashok Sharma, managing director of shipbroker BRS Baxi in Singapore, told local media: "War risk insurance premiums for the Red Sea will now likely go up significantly, as will likely the freight rates."
 

Tanker rates are already at multi-year highs following the placing of US sanctions on companies controlled by Chinese state shipping giant Cosco.

“The explosion points to potential geopolitical risks, and that has once again surprised the market,” Bloomberg cited Will Sungchil Yun, a commodities analyst at South Korea's HI Investment & Futures Corp, as saying.

The NITC tanker attack came a day after Iran's foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif wrote a column for the Financial Times in which he said the region had arrived at a significant moment - and set out how peace could be achieved.

"We are witnessing an escalation in tensions and insecurity, threatening to spiral out of control and result in untold tragedies," he wrote.

"The four-and-a-half-year war on Yemen has brought the region to the brink of disaster and resulted in measures against Saudi Aramco’s facilities."

"For too long now there has been mistrust, acrimony and conflict in the community around the Strait of Hormuz. For too long, states have armed themselves, and invaded, bombed or embargoed each other. For too long, foreign forces have come to our region to project their power, not to protect our people," he said.

Zarif argued that all sides needed to commit to respecting each other’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.

"We should categorically reject any threat or use of force or participation in coalitions against each other," he added.

The minister also proposed setting up meetings of experts, think-tanks, the private sector, senior officials, other ministers and heads of state to "deliberate on common objectives."

The aim is to sign what he called a Hormuz Community Non-Intervention and Non-Aggression Pact.

 

Για όσους δεν την πολυπαλεύουν με τα αγγλικά το άρθρο ασχολείται με την πιθανότητα αντίποινων από την πλευρά του Ιράν και τον κίνδυνο για τη ναυσιπλοΐα στο στενό του Χουρμούζ. Ενδιαφέρον έχει ότι η μόλις χτες ο υπουργός Εξωτερικών του Ιράν σε άρθρο του στη Financial Times σχετικά με το πως μπορεί να επιτευχθεί η ειρήνη στνη περιοχή. Να σημειωθεί ότι η επίθεση γίνεται λίγες εβδομάδες μετά την επίθεση στη Saudi Aramco, τις κυρώσεις στην Cosco, και τις ήδη υπάρχουσες κυρώσεις σε Βενεζουέλα, Ιράν. Θα έχουν σίγουρα ενδιαφέρον οι εξελίξεις στην αγορά των tanker