ID :
136491
Sat, 08/07/2010 - 12:57
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://www.oananews.org//node/136491
The shortlink copeid
Explosives residue found on hull of damaged Japanese tanker+
CAIRO, Aug. 6 Kyodo - Traces of homemade explosives have been found on the hull of a Japanese supertanker damaged last week in the Strait of Hormuz, indicating the ship was attacked by a boat loaded with explosives, a state-run news agency in the United Arab Emirates reported Friday.
In Tokyo, the Japanese transport ministry said traces collected from the hull
are being transferred to Japan for analysis and expected to arrive by Sunday.
Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Minister Seiji Maehara said he has
instructed ministry officials to collect information from authorities in the
UAE through diplomatic channels in order to confirm whether the report is true.
Maehara said the work to analyze the traces, gathered by Japanese Foreign
Ministry officials at an overseas diplomatic mission, will likely begin early
next week, while noting that he has asked other ministries to cooperate in
investigating the cause of the incident.
He also quoted Prime Minister Naoto Kan as telling Cabinet ministers that a
lifeline for the Japanese economy will be jeopardized unless Tokyo responds to
the incident with a ''resolute attitude.''
Emirates News Agency, better known as WAM, quoted a UAE Coast Guard source as
saying local explosives experts ''found a dent on the starboard side above the
waterline and remains of homemade explosives on the hull.''
''Probably the tanker had encountered a terrorist attack from a boat loaded
with explosives,'' the source said.
The report came after the Brigades of Abdullah Azzam, a militant group linked
to al-Qaida, claimed earlier this week, in a statement posted on an Islamist
website, that a suicide bomber from the group was responsible for an attack.
The attack on the 160,292-ton M. Star, owned by Mitsui O.S.K. Lines Ltd.,
occurred shortly after midnight on July 29 as the ship was sailing in the
western part of the strait, carrying crude oil from the port of Das Island in
Abu Dhabi to Japan's Chiba port.
WAM said the vessel left a UAE port earlier Friday after the damage caused to
its starboard side in the attack was repaired.
It said the master of the tanker ''expressed his thanks to UAE authorities for
their swift response to the tanker's request to anchor near the Port of
Fujairah for investigation, survey and cold repairs and to make sure of its
safety, seaworthiness and ability to pursue its voyage under its own power to
Japan.''
Mitsui O.S.K. Lines officials had earlier said the explosion, which left one
person slightly injured but caused no leakage of crude oil from the vessel, may
have been caused by an ''external attack.''
A total of 31 crew members -- 15 Indians and 16 Filipinos -- were aboard the
ship at the time of the incident.
==Kyodo
In Tokyo, the Japanese transport ministry said traces collected from the hull
are being transferred to Japan for analysis and expected to arrive by Sunday.
Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Minister Seiji Maehara said he has
instructed ministry officials to collect information from authorities in the
UAE through diplomatic channels in order to confirm whether the report is true.
Maehara said the work to analyze the traces, gathered by Japanese Foreign
Ministry officials at an overseas diplomatic mission, will likely begin early
next week, while noting that he has asked other ministries to cooperate in
investigating the cause of the incident.
He also quoted Prime Minister Naoto Kan as telling Cabinet ministers that a
lifeline for the Japanese economy will be jeopardized unless Tokyo responds to
the incident with a ''resolute attitude.''
Emirates News Agency, better known as WAM, quoted a UAE Coast Guard source as
saying local explosives experts ''found a dent on the starboard side above the
waterline and remains of homemade explosives on the hull.''
''Probably the tanker had encountered a terrorist attack from a boat loaded
with explosives,'' the source said.
The report came after the Brigades of Abdullah Azzam, a militant group linked
to al-Qaida, claimed earlier this week, in a statement posted on an Islamist
website, that a suicide bomber from the group was responsible for an attack.
The attack on the 160,292-ton M. Star, owned by Mitsui O.S.K. Lines Ltd.,
occurred shortly after midnight on July 29 as the ship was sailing in the
western part of the strait, carrying crude oil from the port of Das Island in
Abu Dhabi to Japan's Chiba port.
WAM said the vessel left a UAE port earlier Friday after the damage caused to
its starboard side in the attack was repaired.
It said the master of the tanker ''expressed his thanks to UAE authorities for
their swift response to the tanker's request to anchor near the Port of
Fujairah for investigation, survey and cold repairs and to make sure of its
safety, seaworthiness and ability to pursue its voyage under its own power to
Japan.''
Mitsui O.S.K. Lines officials had earlier said the explosion, which left one
person slightly injured but caused no leakage of crude oil from the vessel, may
have been caused by an ''external attack.''
A total of 31 crew members -- 15 Indians and 16 Filipinos -- were aboard the
ship at the time of the incident.
==Kyodo
