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LONDON: A vessel was struck by an unknown projectile 13 nautical miles west of Al Jazeera in the United Arab Emirates on \u200bFriday, causing a fire that has since been extinguished, British navy affiliated agency UKMTO said, citing multiple sources.<\/p>\n
While there was no claim of responsibility, maritime security sources said on Friday that the strike was outside of the Hormuz area and indicated a widening of risk for ships.<\/p>\n
Earlier this week a tanker was \u200cstruck off \u200cthe coast of Qatar inside the \u200bGulf.<\/p>\n
The \u200cstatus \u2060of \u200bthe crew, \u2060extent of damage and environmental impact from the vessel struck on Friday remain unknown, UKMTO said, adding that authorities were investigating the incident.<\/p>\n
UKMTO does not typically name vessels, but two shipping and security sources said the vessel struck was the Panama-flagged crude supertanker GEM NO.2.<\/p>\n
\u201cGEM NO.2 \u2060was struck by an unknown projectile approximately 13nm \u200cwest of Al Jazeera, \u200cUAE, at 1000 (GMT),\u201d British maritime risk \u200bmanagement group Vanguard said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe \u200cvessel reportedly issued a distress alert indicating a fire \u200conboard, which was subsequently extinguished.\u201d<\/p>\n
The vessel\u2019s Panama-based operator, listed in shipping databases as Gem No.2 Maritime Corp, could not be reached for comment.<\/p>\n
The last position of the tanker, which was \u200cfully laden with oil, was at anchor off the UAE coast, LSEG ship tracking \u2060data showed on \u2060Friday.<\/p>\n
Tankers are facing a higher risk of attacks and intimidation as they try to get critical shipments through the Strait of Hormuz after Iran issued new warnings it would block routes that it has not authorized, sources told Reuters this week after a surge in incidents in the past week.<\/p>\n
Attacks have become more frequent in recent days \u201cand require added crew vigilance and additional industry monitoring,\u201d the US-navy led Joint Maritime Information \u200bCenter said in its \u200blatest update on Thursday.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n