'Dark fleet' tanker caught on fire after being struck in Persian Gulf
A massive oil tanker was left engulfed in flames after a crash with another vessel in the Persian Gulf close to Iran.
The MV Adalynn collided with another oil tanker, the MV Front Eagle, just south of the Strait of Hormuz, in the early hours of Tuesday.
All 24 crew on the Adalynn were evacuated by the United Arab Emirates coast guard to the port of Khor Fakkan.
There were no reported injuries on either of the vessels.
The crash is believed to have been caused by electronic interference which has affected navigation systems in the area.
This has surged in the area during the conflict between Iran and Israel and has disrupted navigation in the waterway between Iran and Oman which handles around a fifth of the world's seaborne oil.
But the UK Maritime Trade Operations monitor said there is no evidence that any hostile activity caused the collision.
Vessels have been warned by the organisation to take care going through the region.
The Adalynn is owned by India-based Global Shipping Holding Ltd and was sailing towards the Suez Canal in Egypt.
The owner of the Front Eagle vessel, Frontline, said it is investigating and there is no suggestion of outside interference.
The Front Eagle was en route to Zhoushan in China, according to monitoring service TankerTrackers.com, and was loaded with 2 million barrels of Iraqi crude oil.
In recent days, the ongoing conflict between Iran and Israel has intensified and the Strait of Hormuz is currently under Iranian control.
Iran has in the past threatened to close of the strait in retaliation against the west.
Some shipping companies have paused voyages in the water because of rising tensions, according to shipping sources.
In March, the MV Solong cargo ship crashed into the Stena Immaculate oil tanker in the North Sea which was carrying jet fuel for the US army.
Police arrested the Russian captain of the Solong on suspicion of gross negligence manslaughter.
Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.
For more stories like this, check our news page.
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