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RIYADH: An explosion hit a tanker off the Saudi port city of Jeddah, maritime sources said Monday, without giving further details on the cause.
Saudi authorities did not immediately confirm the blast, which according to UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) occurred on Sunday off Jeddah, a key Red Sea port and a distribution center for oil giant Saudi Aramco.
The incident comes after an explosion last month rocked a Greek-operated tanker docked in the southern Saudi Arabian port of Shuqaiq, an attack that a Riyadh-led military coalition blamed on Yemen’s Houthi rebels.
Dryad Global, a London-based maritime intelligence firm, also reported on Sunday’s blast, saying it struck a vessel while “conducting operations inside the tankers’ main anchorage at the Saudi Aramco Jeddah port.”
The affected vessel may be the Dominican-flagged oil tanker Desert Rose or the Saudi-flagged Al Amal Al Saudi, he added.
Based on the coordinates provided by the UKMTO, the oil transport monitor Tanker Trackers identified the vessel as Al Amal Al Saudi.
“This is a tanker that supplies fuel to other vessels. No real impact on crude oil exports, ”Tanker Trackers said on Twitter.
The incident comes as the Houthis, backed by Iran, escalate attacks on Saudi Arabia in retaliation for the military campaign in Yemen.
Last month, rebels said they attacked a plant operated by Saudi Aramco Jeddah with a Quds-2 missile. Aramco said the strike opened a hole in an oil tank, causing an explosion and fire.
The attacks underscore the vulnerability of Saudi Arabia’s multi-billion dollar oil infrastructure.
Saudi Arabia is caught in a military quagmire in Yemen, which has been embroiled in conflict since rebels seized control of the capital Sanaa in 2014 and seized much of the north.
Riyadh led a coalition that stepped in to support the internationally recognized government the following year, but the conflict has shown no signs of abating since then.
Saudi Arabia has repeatedly accused Iran of supplying sophisticated weapons to the Houthis, an accusation Tehran denies.
