Blast hits oil vessel near Iraq as shipping risks rise - Bloomberg

An oil vessel suffered an explosion off the coast of Iraq, damaging part of the ship and signaling widening risks to shipping deeper into the Persian Gulf, Bloomberg News reported on Thursday.

The Sonangol Namibe was approached by a small boat near Khor Al Zubair and its crew later heard a loud bang, Bloomberg cited Sonangol Marine Services as saying. The company said the hull appeared to have been breached and that the vessel was losing water from a ballast tank used for stability.

There were no reports of pollution and no cargo was on board, easing earlier concerns about a spill. A UK naval group had earlier reported oil in the water nearby.

Iran’s IRIB News reported that an oil vessel was struck early on Thursday by the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps Navy but did not identify the ship, Bloomberg said.

The incident marks one of the farthest points north in the Persian Gulf where vessels have been hit since the US and Israel began bombing Iran over the weekend, and follows other strikes including one on a container ship in the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday.