Oil Prices Rise Following Attacks On Two Oil Tankers Near Iran

No claim of responsibility, Likely Iran's warning to the US not mess with them.


Both ships are significantly damaged, and their crews have been evacuated.
Oil prices rose following two attacks on oil tankers in the Gulf of Oman, close to Iran.

The proximity of the attacks near the Strait of Hormuz heightens the prospect of danger and instability in Earth’s busiest oil shipping corridor.

The region was already tense, with the US and Iran increasingly at odds.

Oil prices had been falling earlier in the day before the attack.
US West Texas Intermediate rose 3.2% to $52.77.

Brent Crude rose 2.8% to $61.65.

At the time this was written (10:10 am central time), the Canadian Crude Index was up $1.64 to $36.26, a rise of $4.74%.

Regarding the attacks, there has been no claim of responsibility at this time. The US Navy says they are “rendering assistance.”
The two ships attacked were the Kokuka Courageous, which was in transit from Saudi Arabia to Singapore. The ship’s manager says the vessel is not in danger of sinking, and says there is no leak of its cargo.

The other ship is the Front Altair, owned by Frontline, a Norwegian company.

Below you can view the aftermath of the attacks:

https://www.spencerfernando.com/201...llowing-attacks-on-two-oil-tankers-near-iran/

Frankfooter said:

Likely not from Iran, they are much more savvy than to risk war that way.
And attacking a Japanese tanker while the Japanese PM is in Iran? No way Iran would do that.
That looks much more like a Bay of Tonkin false flag operation, or more like the USS Liberty attack.
Its possible it could be Houthis, but its very far away from their field of operations.

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Iranians are very smart and they picked the right moment, Houthis don't have torpedo boats.

wilbur said:

Just a bunch of nonsense. Why would Iran block the Strait of Hormuz and stop the transport of their own oil, of which their economy is strongly dependent?

Any threat to safe passage affects insurance rates, or even the ability to be insured at all. No ship owner is going to risk sailing their ships unensured, especially in contentious waters, and that includes ships carrying Iranian oil.

This is a blatant false flag operations, aimed specifically at disrupting the Japanese PM's visit to Iran. The US recently built up their forces in the region, and are hankering for a fight. The US may have overwhelming power, although Iran has some surprizes stuck up its sleeve, but the US cannot guarantee the safety of all ships in the area. In case of an escalation, oil transport by sea is going to grind to a halt, despite any assurances from the US that they will 'guarantee' the safe passage of ships.

BTW, Pompeo recently bragged that the CIA lied all the time. So what else is new?

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Not the first time with Iran, they said if they can't get it out nobody else will. The have nothing to lose as sanctions have hammered them. They did the same in the 80's and 2011.

Tanker crew were detained by Iran after first being rescued by another vessel: US officials

The crew of the Front Altair was first rescued by the Hyundai Dubai, according to U.S. officials, but Iranian gunboats quickly surrounded the ship and demanded the crew be turned over. The captain ultimately relented and ordered his crew to surrender.

U.S. officials have told Fox News that the crew of one of the two stricken oil tankers damaged outside the Persian Gulf were detained by the Iranians Thursday after first being rescued by another merchant vessel.

The crew of the Front Altair was first rescued by the Hyundai Dubai, according to U.S. officials, but Iranian gunboats quickly surrounded the ship and demanded the crew be turned over. The captain ultimately relented and ordered his crew to surrender.

The 23 crew members are now being held in Iran. It’s not immediately clear what the next steps are.

Pictures and footage from Iran's English-language Press TV showed the crew members, saying they are all in "full health". The 23 crew members, who were apparently in the Iranian southern port town of Bandar-e-Jask, appeared to be watching a speech by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

https://www.foxnews.com/world/tanke...-being-rescued-by-another-vessel-us-officials

US releases video it claims shows Iran removing unexploded mine from Gulf tanker

(CNN)The United States has blamed Iran for an attack on two tankers in the Gulf of Oman, releasing video footage that it claims shows an Iranian patrol boat removing an unexploded mine from one of the vessels' hulls.

The Kokura Courageous and Front Altair tankers were attacked in international waters Thursday, prompting the evacuation of both vessels and raising fears of further confrontation in one of the world's most strategic shipping lanes at a time of high tensions between the US and Iran.
The explosions, which sparked a fire on at least one of the two ships, are still under investigation. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo blamed Iran for the incident, citing intelligence assessments, the weapons used, the level of expertise required and the similarity to other recent attacks.
On Thursday night, US Central Command released a video which it said shows Iranian sailors removing a mine from the Kokura Courageous' hull.
In the video, a smaller boat is shown coming up to the side of the Japanese-owned tanker. An individual stands up on the bow of the boat and can be seen removing an object from the tanker's hull. The US says that object is likely an unexploded mine.

"Iran did do it, and you know they did it because you saw the boat," President Donald Trump said during a phone interview on Fox and Friends Friday morning, referring to the video.
A senior diplomatic source of a US ally told CNN Friday, "It is a virtual certainty Iran was behind this latest attack. The video now nails it."
The source added that the goal of the response from the US government thus far is all about publicly exposing Iranian actions and intensifying maximum pressure.
After the United States withdrew from the Iran nuclear deal, adopted a policy of maximum economic pressure and sent a carrier group to the region, the source said this "Iranian retaliation is designed to show they can disrupt, and push oil prices up."

The Trump administration predicted that the pressure from the United States would bring Iran to the negotiating table, but European leaders disagreed, believing it would empower the hardliners, the source continued.
Iran has denied any involvement in the incident, with its foreign minister suggesting that the US was quick to make allegations "without a shred of evidence."
On Friday, the president of the Japanese shipping company that owns the Kokuka Courageous held a press conference in Tokyo, in which he denied that a mine had been used in the tanker attack.
The President of Kokuka Sangyo Marine, Yutaka Katada, said he believed there was "no possibility of mine attack" owing to the attack being "well above the naval line."
Katada said he had not seen the images released by the US military, but referenced the account of a crew member who witnessed the second blast and saw a "flying object."
The International Association of Independent Tanker Owners (Intertanko) said the vessels were hit "at or below the waterline, in close proximity to the engine room," and added that the attacks "appeared to be well-planned and coordinated."

Another of US official told CNN that multiple Iranian small boats have entered the area where the USS Bainbridge continues to be on the scene, prompting US Central Command to issue a statement saying, "No interference with USS Bainbridge, or its mission, will be tolerated."

https://edition.cnn.com/2019/06/13/politics/us-images-iranian-boat-removing-mine/index.html