The Aframax tanker Agrari was "attacked by an unknown source" early this morning, while at berth in the Red Sea port of Shuqaiq, Saudi Arabia, and suffered a breach, ship management company TMS Tankers said.
TMS Tankers, which manages the 107,000 deadweight tonne (dwt) tanker, said it was struck one metre above the waterline and breached, having discharged at the port and while preparing to depart. The tanker transported a fuel oil cargo from Ventspils, Latvia to Shuqaiq, arriving on 23 November, according to oil analytics firm Vortexa.
TMS Tankers said that the vessel is in ballast condition and stable, and no injuries or pollution were reported as a result of the incident.
The cause of the incident remains unclear, but any indication of higher risks in the Red Sea will concern the shipping industry. The Red Sea is one of the busiest shipping channels in the world, because of its position at the southern entrance to the Suez Canal. A total of 306 tankers traversed the Suez Canal in October, all of which will also have travelled in the Red Sea. Around 2.1mn tonnes of crude and refined products loaded in the Red Sea to the Asia-Pacific region and east Africa during the month, according to Vortexa.
