TBILISI, March 12 – One of the two oil tankers that caught fire overnight near Iraq was carrying 22 Georgian crew members. All of them were safely evacuated, according to Georgian media reports.
Interpressnews, citing Greek media, reported that the vessel was the Zefyros, a Maltese-flagged tanker owned by a company in Greece. The report said the ship was attacked in Iraqi waters, a fire broke out on board, and Iraqi firefighters later managed to put out the blaze. All 22 crew members were reported safe and transferred to another vessel in Iraq.
Many media outlets reported two oil tankers ablaze overnight in the Persian Gulf area after what a suspected Iranian attack. Reuters and CNN reported, citing Iraqi officials, that explosive-laden Iranian boats had reportedly struck the two tankers and that at least one person had died. Reports identified the targeted ships as the Zefyros and the Safesea Vishnu, which sails under the Marshall Islands flag.
The two vessels were anchored alongside each other before the attack and may have been carrying as much as 400,000 barrels of Iraqi oil, according to TankerTrackers.com. Iraqi Ports Company chief Farhan al Fartousi told CNN that 38 foreign crew members had to be rescued from the damaged ships after the explosions.
The incident comes at a time of high tension in the wider region, where maritime traffic has been closely watched because of the expanding conflict involving Iran and military action linked to the Middle East crisis.
