An explosion rocked an oil tanker carrying around a million barrels of crude off the coast of Libya, paralyzing the ship but without leaving victims or environmental damage, its Greek owners said Monday.
The explosion occurred Friday in the engine room of the Marshall Islands-flagged tanker Vilamoura, under George Economou’s TMS tankers about 90 nautical miles (165 kilometres) off the Libyan coast, said the company, TMS Tankers.
“It was a large breach. There were no injuries and no pollution,” it said in a statement.
Water entered Vilamoura following an explosion, but no injuries were reported. A tug has been dispatched to tow the vessel to the Peloponnese, where its cargo will be offloaded via ship-to-ship transfer.
Divers are set to assess the damage and investigate the cause of the blast. “They don’t know what it was, but it wasn’t a mine,” a spokesperson stated.
Earlier, security firm Vanguard had suggested the possibility of a mine strike, though no official confirmation has been made. The ship’s operator has denied speculation that the incident was the result of sabotage.
According to security analysts, at least five vessels previously docked at Russian ports have suffered similar underwater attacks, suspected to involve mines with delayed fuses placed by divers.
The Vilamoura had departed from the Libyan port of Zueitina and was en route to Gibraltar across the Mediterranean.
*With AFP
