Dubai: A "terrorist act" caused damage to a Japanese oil tanker M. Star in the Strait of Hormuz last week, the coastguard in the United Arab Emirates, where the ship docked for repairs, said on Friday.
A source at the UAE Coast Guard said that investigations and an examination carried out by specialised teams had confirmed that the tanker had been the subject of a terrorist attack.
The source said: ''After the tanker had anchored 12 nautical miles off the Port of Fujairah, UAE explosives experts who collected and examined samples found a dent on the starboard side above the water line and remains of home-made explosives on the hull... Probably the tanker had encountered a terrorist attack from a boat loaded with explosives".
The Japanese tanker M. Star left the Port of Fujairah on Friday after repairing damage to its starboard side incurred when it was passing through international waters near the Strait of Hormuz.
The master of the tanker expressed his profound thanks to the 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.
The attack on the tanker caused no human injuries or spills of oil.
