Explosive device likely damaged Greek tanker off Libya last week, operator says
ATHENS - An external explosive device most likely caused the blast that damaged Greek oil tanker Vilamoura as it was sailing off the Libyan coast last week, the vessel's Greece-based operator TMS Tankers said on Sunday, citing an initial investigation.
The Marshall Islands-flagged tanker Vilamoura had left the Libyan port of Zuetina on June 27 to head to Gibraltar with some 1 million barrels of oil when there was an explosion in the engine room.
"Preliminary investigation findings clearly indicate that the explosion, the resulting fracture of the side shell plating, and the flooding of the engine room were caused by an external source —an unidentified explosive device," TMS Tankers said.
Maritime security sources told Reuters last week that a limpet mine may have caused the blast on Vilamoura, the fifth such incident to hit commercial shipping in the region in recent months.
Following the explosion and the flooding of its engine room the vessel lost manoeuvrability, although it was able to be towed towards Greece.
The vessel has now arrived safely at Laconikos Bay in Greece and its crew are in good health, the operator added in a statement. REUTERS
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Straits Times
an hour ago
- Straits Times
Two crew wounded, two missing in attack on ship off Yemen; Houthis claim assault on Greek bulk carrier
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox ATHENS - Two crew members of a Greek-managed vessel were wounded and two were missing in a drone attack off Yemen on Monday, hours after Iran-aligned Houthi militants claimed an assault on another bulk carrier in the Red Sea, saying the ship had sunk. Monday's attack 50 nautical miles southwest of the port of Hodeidah was the second assault against merchant vessels in the vital shipping corridor by Houthis since November 2024, said an official at the European Union´s Operation Aspides, assigned to help protect Red Sea shipping. The Liberia-flagged, Greek-operated bulk carrier Eternity C with 22 members on board - 21 Filipinos and one Russian - was attacked with sea drones and skiffs, its manager, Cosmoship Management, told Reuters. Two crew members were seriously wounded and two were missing, the company said, adding that three armed security guards were on board. The vessel's bridge was hit and telecommunications were impacted. The ship was adrift, an Aspides official said later, after an attack by sea drones and four speedboats with individuals who launched at least four rocket-propelled grenades. The ship had not requested escort or protection from the naval force, the official added. There was no claim of responsibility for the attack. Earlier, the Houthis claimed responsibility for Sunday's attack on the Greek-operated MV Magic Seas bulk carrier off southwest Yemen. The raid involved gunfire and rocket-propelled grenades from eight skiffs as well as missiles and four uncrewed surface vessels. The 19 crew members were forced to abandon the Liberian-flagged vessel as it was taking on water. They were picked up by a passing ship and have arrived safely in Djibouti, sources said. Houthis said they sunk the vessel. But Michael Bodouroglou, a representative of Stem Shipping, one of the ship's commercial managers, said there was no independent verification. The crew had reported fires at the vessel's forepeak, in the bow. The engine room and at least two holds were flooded, and there was no electricity. Aspides had earlier warned of a risk of explosion in the ship's vicinity. Since Israel's war in Gaza against the Palestinian militant group Hamas began in October 2023, the Houthis have been attacking Israel and vessels in the Red Sea in what they say are acts of solidarity with the Palestinians. Israel has struck Houthi targets in response, launching strikes on Monday for the first time in nearly a month. A U.S.-Houthi ceasefire deal in May did not include Israel. The latest attacks highlight a growing operational risk to commercial operators whose vessels have called at Israeli ports, Maritime security firm Diaplous said. Magic Seas was carrying iron and fertilisers from China to Turkey, a voyage that appeared low-risk as it had nothing to do with Israel, Bodouroglou said, adding that Stem Shipping had received no warning of the attack. But the fleet of Allseas Marine, Magic Seas' other commercial manager, had made calls to Israeli ports over the past year, according to analysis by UK-based maritime risk management company Vanguard Tech. "These factors put the Magic Seas at an extreme risk of being targeted,' said Ellie Shafik, head of intelligence with Vanguard Tech. The manager of ETERNITY C is also affiliated with vessels that have made calls to Israeli ports, security sources said. John Xylas, chairman of the dry bulk shipping association Intercargo, said the crew were "innocent people, simply doing their jobs, keeping global trade moving". "No one at sea should ever face such violence," he said. REUTERS
Straits Times
an hour ago
- Straits Times
Trial set to open in Slovakia of man who shot and wounded PM Fico
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox FILE PHOTO: Slovakia's Prime Minister Robert Fico attends a press conference, as he marks the anniversary of his attempted assassination, at the site of the attack, in Handlova, central Slovakia May 15, 2025. REUTERS/Radovan Stoklasa/File Photo BANSKA BYSTRICA, Slovakia - A Slovak court will begin the trial on Tuesday of a man who shot and seriously wounded Prime Minister Robert Fico in May last year, an attack that both exposed and exacerbated political and social divisions in the small central European country. The 72-year-old Juraj C. stands accused of terrorism for an attack that prosecutors say was aimed at incapacitating the government. He faces up to life imprisonment if found guilty by the Specialised Criminal Court. The attacker, a former mine worker, stonemason, security guard, but also the author of poetry and prose and a public activist, has told investigators he shot at Fico to hurt but not kill him, due to what he said were disagreements with the prime minister's policies on Ukraine, media and culture. Fico, a 60-year-old fourth-time prime minister, has clashed with Slovakia's partners in the European Union and NATO over his opposition to providing military aid to Ukraine and his efforts to maintain working relations with Russia. He has also pushed through criminal law and media reforms which critics say undermine democracy, and - echoing Prime Minister Victor Orban of neighbouring Hungary - has pledged to build a "dam against liberalism" through constitutional reforms. Fico has accused the attacker of being an opposition activist and has accused the opposition - an array of mostly liberal-pro EU parties - of stoking hatred. The main opposition parties denied any connection to the shooter. Fico's tilt towards Russia triggered large public protests earlier this year, which he said were aimed at triggering a coup against the government, an assertion denied by protest organisers. Fico has said he has forgiven the attacker and does not intend to attend the trial unless called to testify. The court has set hearings for Tuesday and Wednesday but further hearings are possible later this year before a verdict is reached. The first day is expected to include a reading of the charges and questioning of the suspect. The suspect fired five shots from a handgun from 1.2 metres as the prime minister greeted citizens in the central Slovak town of Hand. Fico was hit four times, including in the abdomen, and underwent urgent surgery and treatment at the Banksia Hysteria hospital. His full diagnosis has not been revealed. REUTERS
Straits Times
4 hours ago
- Straits Times
Fencing-French Olympic fencer cleared as CAS accepts positive test linked to kissing partner
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox Paris 2024 Olympics - Fencing - Women's Foil Team Classifications 5-8 - Grand Palais, Paris, France - August 01, 2024. Ysaora Thibus of France is seen during the bout against China. REUTERS/Albert Gea The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) has overturned French Olympic fencer Ysaora Thibus's four-year suspension for doping, ruling that her positive test for a banned substance was caused by kissing her then-boyfriend, American fencer Race Imboden. Thibus, silver medallist in team foil at the Tokyo Games, had tested positive for ostarine, a prohibited muscle-building substance, during a competition in Paris in January 2024. However, CAS concluded there was no intentional wrongdoing, finding it scientifically plausible that repeated kissing over several days with Olympic medallist Imboden — who was taking ostarine at the time — led to accidental contamination. The court dismissed an appeal from the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), which had sought a four-year suspension. The sport's top court instead upheld a previous ruling from the International Fencing Federation's doping disciplinary tribunal (DDT) that had already cleared Thibus of any fault. "The CAS Panel ruled that the antidoping rule violation for the presence of ostarine was not intentional, and that it is not questionable that Ms Thibus bears no fault or negligence," the court said in a statement. "The DDT decision is upheld and the appeal is dismissed." The case has drawn comparisons to an incident in 2009 involving French tennis player Richard Gasquet, who was exonerated after arguing that he had tested positive for cocaine after kissing someone at a nightclub. Thibus was able to compete at the 2024 Paris Olympics following the initial DDT ruling, finishing fifth in the team foil event on home soil. REUTERS
