Posted on 07/28/2010 5:11:27 PM PDT by DeaconBenjamin
MUSCAT/TOKYO (Reuters) – A Japanese oil tanker damaged in an explosion in the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world's most important shipping lanes, was being diverted to a port in the UAE on Wednesday.
One of the 31 crew aboard was injured but no oil leaked from the M Star very large crude carrier (VLCC), according to the Japanese transport ministry.
It said an explosion occurred onboard at around 00:30 a.m. local time (2030 GMT Tuesday), but the cause was unclear.
"A crew member saw light on the horizon just before the explosion, so (ship owner Mitsui O.S.K.) believes there is a possibility it was caused by an outside attack," Japan's ministry said in a statement.
Oman's coastguard said there was no evidence of any attack on the tanker and instead cited an earthquake.
"The boat was hit by a tremor ...we have no information of an attack," an Omani coastguard official told Reuters.
The Strait of Hormuz remained open and it was "business as usual," an official from the Omani ministry of transport said.
Al Qaeda has threatened to attack shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, a route used by some 40 percent of the world's seaborne oil.
The ship was sailing under its own power toward Fujairah port in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to check the damage, a Mitsui O.S.K. Lines spokesman said.
The tanker bound for Chiba, near Tokyo, was carrying around 2.3 million barrels of Qatar Land and Abu Dhabi Lower Zakum crudes, industry sources said.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
‘’oh , I’m so sure.......(gulf of token
"The boat was hit by a tremor ...we have no information of an attack," an Omani coastguard official told Reuters.
That's the kind of answer you get from a person with a 7th Century education.
...once again, Alex Jones has been all over this for a long time..
The Japanese would never tell.
Any recent Godzilla sightings in the area?
Mothra?
Call me crazy, but haven’t there been an unusual amount of rig problems lately. I think I read yesterday where some dummy ran a ship into a rig. Coincidence?
What has he been saying? He seems spot-on when it comes to a lot of things, but some of the things he says make me think he’s a kook.
Nevermind. One and the same. Sorry.
It's really simple old school Sneakyman Inc. Gulf of Tokein replay deal to get another profitable no recognizable outcome war started.
An earthquake would be a detectable event. Big enuff to damage only one tanker, small enuff to damage nothing else? Doubt it.
I hope it was Muslim terrorists...perhaps that is redundant.
We’ve been wanting the Japanese to get off their arses and re militarize anyway. Maybe now they can go back to being our ally looking to November when they’ll be revalued instead of now.
How the hell can an earthquake damage a supertanker? Was this thing sitting in traffic on the Santa Monica Freeway or something?!?!
My guess it was that d%*# faulty wiring in the center gas tank again.< /sarcasm>
Well, that’s probably just an accident.
Let’s see... [opens Thesaurus]
Hormuz... ah, here it is... “accident waiting to happen”.
Anti-ship missile is my first guess,,,
Iran has used them before,,,
Iranian HY-2 missiles ,,,SEERSUCKER/Sadsack and Silkworm
type...
I have a really hard time imagining an earthquake that would cause explosive damage to a tanker IN THE WATER, but NOT cause a Tsunami! Talk about insanity... I’d love to see this official explain his “earthquake theory”...
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