Vessel lists off UAE coast after suspected attack, British navy monitor says

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - A vessel at anchor was seen listing off the United Arab Emirates’ (UAE) coast, the British navy monitor reported on Wednesday, attributing the incident to “water ingress” caused by an attack. This comes as regional tensions escalated overnight after a series of strikes and counter-strikes between Iran and the US. 

The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said it “received a third-party report regarding an incident” off the coast of Dubai’s Port Rashid, where “the Master of a tanker sighted a vessel listing while at anchor.” The monitor added that the latter “may indicate water ingress following an attack from an unknown projectile.”

“Vessels in the area are advised to transit with caution and immediately report any suspicious activity to UKMTO while authorities investigate,” the statement added.

The incident comes as Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said Wednesday that it targeted two US vessels, eight oil tankers and ten other ships attempting to cross what it called a “prohibited and unsafe zone” of the Strait of Hormuz.

In a statement carried by the state-run Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA), the IRGC said the attacks were “in response to the aggression” of the US military which struck “five Iranian oil tankers in the Persian Gulf.”

The US Central Command (CENTCOM) confirmed that its forces “destroyed five Iranian crude oil carriers” in regional waters after the IRGC “targeted a U.S. Navy warship with ballistic missiles twice over the past two days,” adding that the warship “successfully evaded the attempted Iranian attacks" and that "no American personnel were harmed.”

“Iran has used the tankers as part of a multibillion-dollar shadow network that funds the IRGC and its regional proxies,” CENTCOM added, noting that its forces had destroyed three other Iranian crude oil carriers on Saturday “after the IRGC tried to attack a U.S. aircraft carrier and guided-missile destroyer.”

Fox News on Tuesday cited “senior US officials” as saying the targeting of Iranian oil tankers was part of Washington's “larger effort to squeeze Iran economically.”

Beyond maritime attacks, Jordan said Wednesday it engaged 20 ballistic missiles fired toward its territory from Iran, adding that the majority were intercepted while others landed in remote areas causing minimal damage.

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