Explosion strikes Israeli-owned ship in Mideast

AP | Dubai

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

An explosion struck an Israeli-owned cargo ship sailing out of the Middle East on Friday.

The crew and vessel were safe, according to the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations, which is run by the British navy. The explosion forced the vessel to head to the nearest port.

Dryad Global, a maritime intelligence firm, identified the vessel as the MV Helios Ray, a Bahaman-flagged roll-on, roll-off vehicle cargo ship. Another private security official, who spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity to discuss intelligence matters, similarly identified the ship as the Helios Ray.

Satellite-tracking data from the website MarineTraffic.com showed the Helios Ray had been nearly entering the Arabian Sea around 0600 GMT Friday before it suddenly turned around and began heading back toward the Strait of Hormuz. It still listed Singapore as its destination on its tracker.

A United Nations ship database identified the vessel’s owners as a Tel Aviv-based firm called Ray Shipping Ltd. Calls to Ray Shipping rang unanswered Friday.

The US Navy’s Bahrain-based 5th Fleet was “aware and monitoring” the situation, Cmdr. Rebecca Rebarich told The Associated Press.

She declined to immediately comment further.

While the circumstances of the explosion remain unclear, Dryad Global, said it was very possible the blast stemmed from “asymmetric activity by the Iranian military.”

As Iran seeks to pressure the United States to lift sanctions and return to the 2015 atomic accord, the country may seek “to exercise forceful diplomacy through military means,” the Dryad report said.