Oil tankers hit by torpedoes off Saudi Arabia
The tanker MT Agrari suffered a body hole in a suspected torpedo attack on waters off Saudi Arabia, but the culprit has not been identified.
The attack happened on November 25, after the MT Agrari ship unloaded an unspecified shipment at the Shuqaiq power plant, south of Saudi Arabia.
"The Agrari vessel was attacked by an unknown force", TMS Tankers said in a statement.
Ambrey, a UK-based maritime security company, said the blast formed a hole in the hull, but satellite images showed that Agrari was still floating and there was no sign of oil leaking into the Red Sea.
Neither side has yet claimed responsibility for the attack.
Houthi forces in Yemen used to use magnet mines, anti-ship cruise missiles and drones to attack commercial ships in the Red Sea area.
Shuqaiq power plant location (highlighted in red).
"The hole in the hull draft caused by mines is interesting. Conventional torpedoes explode under the waterline, but the attackers may have used magnetized mines attached to the hull."
Iran in June 2019 was suspected of using magnetic torpedoes to attack the Japanese oil tanker Kokuka Courageous and the Norwegian Front Altair in the Gulf of Oman.
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