Israeli Vessel Damaged By Explosion Docks In Dubai For Investigation & Repairing

An Israeli cargo ship was rocked by explosions on Saturday that damaged its starboard side and port side. And now the vessel has docked finally docked at Dubai port for repairing and investigations.

According to American officials, the ship Helios Ray has 4 holes – 2 on its port side and 2 on its starboard side. The damages are all above the waterline.

Iran Blamed for the Explosion

The blast at the Gulf of Oman has revived security concerns in the Middle East. This comes at a time when the situation with Iran is at its worst. In fact, Israel has gone on record blaming Iran for the situation.

Image Credits: @rheytah – Twitter

The MV Helios Ray was Port Rashid near Dubai when the blast happened on Sunday. The crew hasn’t been injured in the incident although the ship has endured damages.

So far the cause of the explosion hasn’t been determined yet while Iran-US tensions have increased over the Iran nuclear deal issue.
The new US president Joe Biden sought to release the sanctions imposed by his predecessor.

A series of attacks have happened on foreign oil tankers in the last 2 years and the US has blamed Iran for this. The explosion on the Bahamian flagged ship also seems to be the same. However, Iran has denied all the charges of suspected assaults on the Strait of Hormuz so far.

Hallmarks of Iranian Attacks

Commenting on the incident, Israeli Defence Minister, Benny Gantz said that Iran was responsible for the explosion on the Israeli ship.

The Israeli Ambassador in the US and the UN blamed Iran for the incident saying it’s not a secret that Iranians are trying to harm Israel.

Gilad Erdan said that the explosion bears hallmarks of Iranian attacks.

Officials from Israel’s Defence Ministry arrived in Dubai on Saturday. They will be investigating the incident first hand.

Act of Revenge

This was carrying cars and was on its way to Singapore via the Middle East. On the way it delivered cars at many ports in the Gulf countries. The blast happened at the Gulf of Oman. The ship was coming from the Saudi port of Dammam. It was forced to change course to Dubai for the inspection.

Iran has said that the blast was caused by a branch of the resistance axis. It might have been trapped in the ambush of Iranian proxies in the region.

Previously Iran had blamed Israel for recent attacks on their centrifuge assembly plant at their Natanz nuclear facility. Iran’s top nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh died in the incident. Mohsen was the founder of Iran’s nuclear program that started 20 years ago. Iran had vowed to avenge the killing of their top nuclear scientist. This has raised alarm in the Gulf region as several ships transit through the region.

Reference: thearabweekly.com

Source: Maritime Shipping News