(CNN) — Four ships were targeted on Sunday near the strategic Emirati port of Fujairah, in what the UAE described as a “sabotage attack.” One was flying a UAE flag, and another the Norwegian flag. The other two were tankers owned by Saudi Arabia, which described the incident as a threat to the security of global oil supplies. There were no injuries or deaths, according to the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation. It did not elaborate on the nature of the alleged sabotage, or offer any indication as to who might be responsible. Tensions have risen in the oil-rich region in recent weeks amid the deployment of a growing number of United States military assets to the Middle East, due to deteriorating relations with Iran. Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Seyyed Abbas Mousavi said Monday that the incidents were “alarming and regrettable,” and requested further information on the alleged sabotage. He also warned against “plots by ill-wishers to disrupt regional security” and called for “vigilance of regional states in the face of any adventurism by foreign elements.” CNN Images show damage sustained to the hull of Norwegian tanker Andrea Victory. Several US officials are cautioning there is no final conclusion on how the ships were damaged. One US official pointed out the lack of detail from the UAE and Saudi Arabia about how the ships were damaged. In a tweet, Emirati Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Anwar Gargash said investigations in the incident were ongoing but that the government had its “own readings and conclusions.” “The international community (needs to) assume its responsibilities to prevent any parties trying to undermine the security and safety of maritime traffic,” the ministry said. What we know The incident took place near UAE territorial waters in the Gulf of Oman, east of the emirate of Fujairah, the country’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation said. The ministry added that authorities were working with local and international bodies to investigate the incident, which it described as a “dangerous development.” Images that CNN captured of the Norwegian tanker, Andrea Victory, show damage sustained to the hull of the vessel. In a statement Monday, Thome Ship Management, which manages the ship, confirmed it suffered hull damage after being struck by an unknown object at the waterline and said that it was not in any danger of sinking. One of the Saudi vessels was on its way to be loaded with Saudi crude oil from the port of Ras Tanura, to be delivered to customers in the US, Saudi Arabia’s state-run Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported Monday. While the agency didn’t mention casualties or oil spills, it did say there had been “significant damage to the structures of the two vessels.” On Monday, the UAE formally asked the US for technical assistance in assessing the vessels’ damage, according to a US official. The US experts will look at the damage patterns, try to recover any material from the site, and determine if some kind of missile or weapon hit the ships. KARIM SAHIB/AFP//Getty Images A Monday photo shows the oil tanker "Amjad," one of two Saudi-owned vessels Riyadh says were sabotaged. Rumblings about Iran Last week, the US Maritime Administration issued an advisory that “Iran or its proxies” could be targeting commercial vessels and oil production infrastructure in the region. The warning followed Iran’s announcement that it was partially withdrawing from a landmark nuclear deal, the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, which the US itself unilaterally exited one year ago. US Air Force F-15s and F-35s, along with B-52 bombers, are now flying visible air patrols over the Persian Gulf, according to a US official, who said that the flights were designed to demonstrate to both Iran and US allies that US forces are in a deterrence mode. Several officials say that the US is continuing to conduct intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) flights in the Middle East. Also on Monday, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo canceled a planned visit to Moscow on Monday and flew to Brussels for talks on Iran with his counterparts from the UK, Germany, France. Asked later that day if the US was going to war with Iran and if the US was seeking regime change there, Trump said, “We’ll see what happens with Iran.” The Strait of Hormuz: A strategic passage Iran borders the Persian Gulf (also known as the Arabian Gulf) and the Strait of Hormuz, a strategically important waterway. The US Energy Information Administration calls the Strait of Hormuz “the world’s most important oil transit chokepoint,” with an estimated 20% of oil traded worldwide moving through the channel, which is about 30 miles wide at its narrowest point. Saudi Arabian Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih described the incident as a deliberate attempt to “undermine the freedom of maritime navigation, and the security of oil supplies to consumers all over the world.” A senior source at Saudi Arabia’s ministry of energy told CNN that the attacks were particularly alarming because the tankers were targeted outside the Strait of Hormuz. Oil prices rose by nearly 2% at one point on Monday in the wake of the Saudi claims of sabotage. UAE denied earlier reports The accusations of sabotage come less than 24 hours after the UAE government denied reports alleging that seven oil tankers were involved in an explosion in the port of Fujairah on Sunday morning. The reports were carried first by Lebanon’s pro-Hezbollah Al-Mayadeen satellite channel and later picked up by Iran’s state-owned Press TV and other outlets. “The operations at the port are going as normal,” a statement from the Emirates News Agency said Sunday. “Media outlets must be responsible and rely on official sources.” CNN The "Al-Marzoqah" tanker belongs to the privately-owned Dubai-based Red Sea Marine Services firm, which was established in Jeddah in 1987. In a statement Sunday, the Gulf Cooperation Council condemned those reported “sabotage operations,” with council General Secretary Abdul Latif bin Rashid al-Zayani calling the incident a “dangerous escalation (that) speaks of the evil intentions” of whoever carried out the attack.<doc-sep>Four ships were targeted near the strategic Emirati port of Fujairah, in what the UAE described as a "sabotage attack." One was flying a UAE flag, and another the Norwegian flag. The other two were tankers owned by Saudi Arabia, which described the incident as a threat to the security of global oil supplies. CNN's Nic Robertson reports.<doc-sep>FUJAIRAH, United Arab Emirates -- As many as four oil tankers anchored in the Mideast were damaged in what Gulf officials described Monday as a "sabotage" attack off the coast of the United Arab Emirates. While details of the incident remained unclear, it raised risks for shippers in a region vital to global energy supplies at a time of increasing tensions between the U.S. and Iran over its unraveling nuclear deal with world powers. The U.S. issued a new warning to sailors as the UAE's regional allies condemned Sunday's alleged attack, which the UAE said targeted vessels off the coast of its port city of Fujairah. Gulf officials declined to say who they suspected was responsible, but the incident came after a pro-Iran satellite channel in Lebanon and Iranian media earlier falsely claimed Fujairah's port had been hit by mysterious explosions. A U.S. official in Washington, without offering any evidence, told The Associated Press that an American military team's initial assessment indicated Iran or Iranian allies used explosives to blow holes in the ships, including two Saudi, one Norwegian and one Emirati oil tanker. The official, who was not authorized to discuss the investigation, agreed to reveal the findings only if not quoted by name. The U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet, which patrols the Mideast and operates from a base in Fujairah, has repeatedly declined to comment on the incident. The U.S. already had warned ships that "Iran or its proxies" could be targeting maritime traffic in the region. America is deploying an aircraft carrier and B-52 bombers to the Persian Gulf to counter alleged, still-unspecified threats from Tehran. Citing heightened tensions in the region, the United Nations called on "all concerned parties to exercise restraint for the sake of regional peace, including by ensuring maritime security" and freedom of navigation, U.N. deputy spokesman Farhan Haq said. The scale of the alleged sabotage also remained unclear. A statement from Saudi Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih said two of the kingdom's oil tankers, including one due to later carry crude to the U.S., sustained "significant damage." However, a report from Sky News Arabia, a satellite channel owned by an Abu Dhabi ruling family member, showed the allegedly targeted Saudi tanker Al Marzoqah afloat without any apparent damage. Satellite images obtained by the AP early Tuesday showed no visible major damage to any of the vessels. The MT Andrea Victory, one of the allegedly targeted ships, sustained a hole in its hull just above its waterline from "an unknown object," its owner Thome Ship Management said in a statement. Images Monday of the Norwegian-flagged Andrea Victory, which the company said was "not in any danger of sinking," showed damage similar to what the firm described. Emirati officials identified the third ship as the Saudi-flagged oil tanker Amjad. Ship-tracking data showed the vessel still anchored off Fujairah, apparently not in immediate distress. The fourth ship was the A. Michel, a bunkering tanker flagged in Sharjah, one of the UAE's seven emirates. The U.S. official said each ship sustained a 5- to 10-foot (1.5- to 3-meter) hole in it, near or just below the water line, suspected to have been caused by explosive charges. Emirati officials had requested a team of U.S. military investigators aid them in their probe. Authorities in Fujairah, also a UAE emirate, also declined to speak to the AP. Emirati officials stopped AP journalists from travelling by boat to see the ships. The incident raised questions about maritime security in the UAE, home to Dubai's Jebel Ali port, the largest man-made deep-water harbour in the world that is also the U.S. Navy's busiest port of call outside of America. From the coast, AP journalists saw an Emirati coast guard vessel patrolling near the area of one of the Saudi ships in Fujairah, some 130 miles (210 kilometres) northeast of Dubai on the Gulf of Oman. Fujairah also is about 140 kilometres (85 miles) south of the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf through which a third of all oil at sea is traded. The alleged sabotage caused jitters in global oil markets, as benchmark Brent crude rose in trading to over $71.50 a barrel Monday, a change of 1.3%. Al-Falih, the Saudi energy minister, said the attacks on the two Saudi tankers happened at 6 a.m. Sunday. He said "the attack didn't lead to any casualties or oil spill," though he acknowledged it affected "the security of oil supplies to consumers all over the world." It is "the joint responsibility of the international community to protect the safety of maritime navigation and the security of oil tankers, to mitigate against the adverse consequences of such incidents on energy markets, and the danger they pose to the global economy," he said, according to the statement carried by the state-run Saudi Press Agency. The U.S. Energy Department later said it was "monitoring the oil markets, and is confident they remain well-supplied." Shortly after the Saudi announcement, Iran's Foreign Ministry called for further clarification about what exactly happened with the vessels. The ministry's spokesman, Abbas Mousavi, was quoted by the official IRNA news agency as saying there should be more information about the incident. Mousavi also warned against any "conspiracy orchestrated by ill-wishers" and "adventurism by foreigners" to undermine the maritime region's stability and security. Both the UAE and Saudi Arabia are staunch opponents of Iran's government. Asked at the White House about the incident, President Donald Trump responded: "It's going to be a bad problem for Iran if something happens." Tensions have risen since Trump withdrew America from the 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and world powers, and restored U.S. sanctions that have pushed Iran's economy into crisis. Last week, Iran warned it would begin enriching uranium at higher levels in 60 days if world powers failed to negotiate new terms for the deal. European Union officials met Monday in Brussels to thrash out ways to keep the Iran nuclear deal afloat. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo had travelled there for talks. "We're not going to miscalculate. Our aim is not war," Pompeo told CNBC in an interview.<doc-sep>Share this Story: Four ships off U.A.E coast targeted by 'sabotage' after false reports of explosions at Emirati port Four ships off U.A.E coast targeted by 'sabotage' after false reports of explosions at Emirati port The reported incident comes as the U.S. has warned ships that 'Iran or its proxies' could be targeting maritime traffic in the region Photo by Kamran Jebreili / AP Article content DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — The United Arab Emirates said Sunday that four commercial ships off its eastern coast “were subjected to sabotage operations,” just hours after Iranian and Lebanese media outlets aired false reports of explosions at a nearby Emirati port. Emirati officials declined to elaborate on the nature of the sabotage or say who might have been responsible. However, the reported incident comes as the U.S. has warned ships that “Iran or its proxies” could be targeting maritime traffic in the region, and as America is deploying an aircraft carrier and B-52 bombers to the Persian Gulf to counter alleged threats from Tehran. We apologize, but this video has failed to load. tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or Four ships off U.A.E coast targeted by 'sabotage' after false reports of explosions at Emirati port Back to video Tensions have risen in the year since President Donald Trump withdrew the United States from the 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and world powers, restoring American sanctions that have pushed Iran’s economy into crisis. Last week, Iran warned it would begin enriching uranium at higher levels in 60 days if world powers failed to negotiate new terms for the deal. Advertisement Story continues below This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Article content The statement from the UAE’s Foreign Ministry put the ships near the country’s territorial waters in the Gulf of Oman, east of the port of Fujairah. It said it was investigating the incident “in co-operation with local and international bodies.” It said there were “no injuries or fatalities on board the vessels” and “no spillage of harmful chemicals or fuel.” The U.S. Navy’s 5th Fleet, which oversees the region, did not immediately offer comment on the incident. Emirati officials declined to elaborate while their investigation is ongoing. Earlier Sunday, Lebanon’s pro-Iran satellite channel Al-Mayadeen, quoting “Gulf sources,” falsely reported that a series of explosions had struck Fujairah’s port. State and semi-official media in Iran picked up the report from Al-Mayadeen, which later published the names of vessels it claimed were involved in the incident. Advertisement Story continues below This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Article content The Associated Press, after speaking to Emirati officials and local witnesses, found the report about explosions at the port to be unsubstantiated. Fujairah’s port is located about 140 kilometres (85 miles) from the Strait of Hormuz, through which a third of all oil at sea is traded. The facility handles oil for bunkering and shipping, as well as general and bulk cargo. It is seen as strategically located, serving shipping routes in the Persian Gulf, the Indian subcontinent and Africa. The reported sabotage incident comes after the U.S. Maritime Administration warned Thursday that Iran could target commercial sea traffic. “Since early May, there is an increased possibility that Iran and/or its regional proxies could take action against U.S. and partner interests, including oil production infrastructure, after recently threatening to close the Strait of Hormuz,” the warning read. “Iran or its proxies could respond by targeting commercial vessels, including oil tankers, or U.S. military vessels in the Red Sea, Bab-el-Mandeb Strait, or the Persian Gulf.” It’s unclear if that is the same perceived threat that prompted the White House to order the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier strike group and B-52 bombers to the region on May 4. Share this article in your social network Advertisement Story continues below This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Shopping essentials Advertisement Story continues below This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. NP Posted Sign up to receive the daily top stories from the National Post, a division of Postmedia Network Inc. Email Address There was an error, please provide a valid email address. By clicking on the sign up button you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. You may unsubscribe any time by clicking on the unsubscribe link at the bottom of our emails. Postmedia Network Inc. | 365 Bloor Street East, Toronto, Ontario, M4W 3L4 | 416-383-2300 Thanks for signing up! A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it please check your junk folder. The next issue of NP Posted will soon be in your inbox. We encountered an issue signing you up. Please try again Trending<doc-sep>
An Emirati coast guard vessel passes an oil tanker off the coast of Fujairah, United Arab Emirates,on May 13, 2019. (Jon Gambrell/AP Photo) Saudi Arabia Says Its Oil Tankers Among Those Hit Off UAE Coast FUJAIRAH, United Arab Emirates—Two Saudi oil tankers and a Norwegian-flagged vessel were damaged in what Gulf officials described on May 13 as a “sabotage” attack off the coast of the United Arab Emirates. While details of the incident remain unclear, it raised risks for shippers in a region vital to global energy supplies at a time of increasing tensions between the U.S. and Iran over its unraveling nuclear deal with world powers. The U.S. issued a new warning to sailors as the UAE’s regional allies condemned Sunday’s alleged attack that the UAE says targeted four ships off the coast of its port city of Fujairah. It came just hours after Iranian and Lebanese media outlets aired false reports of explosions at the port. While Gulf officials declined to say who they suspect may be responsible, the U.S. has warned ships that “Iran or its proxies” could be targeting maritime traffic in the region. America is deploying an aircraft carrier and B-52 bombers to the Persian Gulf to counter alleged, still-unspecified threats from Tehran. The scale of the alleged sabotage also remains unclear. A statement from Saudi Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih said the kingdom’s two oil tankers, including one due to later carry crude to the U.S., sustained “significant damage.” However, a report from Sky News Arabia, a satellite channel owned by an Abu Dhabi ruling family member, showed the allegedly targeted Saudi tanker Al Marzoqah afloat without any apparent damage. The MT Andrea Victory, another of the allegedly targeted ships, sustained a hole in its hull just above its waterline from “an unknown object,” its owner Thome Ship Management said in a statement. Images Monday of the Andrea Victory, which the company said was “not in any danger of sinking,” showed damage similar to what the firm described. Emirati officials identified the third ship as the Saudi-flagged oil tanker Amjad. Ship-tracking data showed the vessel still anchored off Fujairah, apparently not in immediate distress. The fourth ship was the A. Michel, a bunkering tanker flagged in Sharjah, one of the UAE’s seven emirates. A U.S. official told The Associated Press that American naval investigators were assisting the Emiratis with their probe of the incident. The official was not authorized to discuss details of the assistance publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity. The U.S. Navy’s 5th Fleet, which patrols the Persian Gulf and wider region from its base in Bahrain, declined to comment on the incident. The Navy runs a small supply operation out of the nearby Emirati naval base in Fujairah. UPDATED: Tankers reported damaged off UAE on major oil trade route https://t.co/98Bd7RPbIK — CTV News (@CTVNews) May 13, 2019 Authorities in Fujairah, also a UAE emirate, also declined to speak to the AP. Emirati officials stopped AP journalists from traveling by boat to see the ships. However, the incident raises questions about maritime security in the UAE, home to Dubai’s Jebel Ali port, the largest man-made deep-water harbor in the world that is also the U.S. Navy’s busiest port of call outside of America. From the coast, AP journalists saw an Emirati coast guard vessel patrolling near the area of one of the Saudi ships in Fujairah, some 130 miles (210 kilometers) northeast of Dubai on the Gulf of Oman. Fujairah also is about 140 kilometers (85 miles) south of the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf through which a third of all oil at sea is traded. The alleged sabotage caused jitters in global oil markets, as benchmark Brent crude rose in trading to over $71.50 a barrel Monday, a change of 1.3%. Al-Falih, the Saudi energy minister, said the attacks on the two Saudi tankers happened at 6 a.m. Sunday. He said “the attack didn’t lead to any casualties or oil spill,” though he acknowledge it affected “the security of oil supplies to consumers all over the world.” It is “the joint responsibility of the international community to protect the safety of maritime navigation and the security of oil tankers, to mitigate against the adverse consequences of such incidents on energy markets, and the danger they pose to the global economy,” he said, according to the statement carried by the state-run Saudi Press Agency.