Explosion at Saudi port hits oil tanker as Red Sea attacks mount

Dubai

A SHIP was hit by an explosion at the Saudi Arabian port of Jeddah, as attacks in the Red Sea mount.

While there were no casualties reported in Monday's incident, it came less than three weeks after an oil tanker was damaged in a possible attack at the Saudi terminal of Shuqaiq, south of Jeddah.

Tanker BW Rhine, which carries refined products, was struck by an external source while discharging at Jeddah at about 12.40am local time on Monday, according to a statement from ship-operating firm Hafnia, which owns BW Group. The Singapore-flagged vessel immediately ceased all discharge operations and the fire was extinguished without any injuries to the 22 crew members, it said.

"It is possible that some oil has escaped from the vessel," the statement read. "But this has not been confirmed and instrumentation currently indicates that oil levels on board are at the same level as before the incident."

Brent crude rose 1.2 per cent to US$50.56 a barrel by 3.01pm in Singapore.

BW Rhine loaded petrol at the Saudi port of Yanbu on Dec 8 before sailing south to Jeddah, according to ship-tracking data compiled by Bloomberg. The United Kingdom Marine Trade Operations, which is linked to the British navy, said a ship had been hit on Sunday but didn't name it or specify the timing. It advised vessels in that part of the Red Sea to "exercise extreme caution".

Spokespeople for the Saudi Ports Authority and the kingdom's energy ministry didn't immediately respond to messages requesting comment.

TankerTrackers.com had said in a tweet that a vessel called Al Amal Al Saudi was hit while it was carrying bunker fuel, which typically powers ships and aircraft. It later said that, based on new information, the BW Rhine was probably the ship that was struck.

Yemen's Houthi rebels have previously used sea mines to attack ships in Saudi Arabian waters.

The Houthis, who are supported by Iran, have been fighting Yemen's United Nations-backed government since 2014. A Saudi-led coalition intervened a year later on the side of the government.

Two days before the Shuqaiq explosion, the Houthis claimed a missile strike on a Saudi Aramco fuel depot in Jeddah, which is about 595 kilometres from the Yemeni border. The strike caused no casualties. BLOOMBERG