Muscat: A Japanese-owned oil tanker sailing in Omani waters has been damaged after being hit by waves caused by a minor earthquake in Iran.
An official at the Omani coastguard quashed earlier reports that the ship may have been attacked: “The boat was hit by a tremor; we have no information of an attack.”
The minor quake was confirmed by an official at Iran's International Institute of Seismology and Earthquake Engineering: "A minor earthquake of 3.4 magnitude happened in Bandar Abbas," he said.
The Japanese Transport Ministry also confirmed the quake, saying "Oman had not closed its side of the strait of Hormuz."
Earlier reports had claimed the tanker may have been attacked in the Strait of Hormuz near Iran and Oman, with an earlier statement from the ministry saying: "Since one of the crew saw a flash on the horizon immediately before the blast, the company suspects it was highly likely an attack."
One crew member was injured and the ship, the M. Star, owned and operated by Japan's Mitsui OSK Lines, was partly damaged but able to continue sailing to the port of Fujairah in the UAE where it was checked for damage.
The vessel, staffed by a 16-man crew from the Philippines and 15 Indians, was carrying 270,000 tones of crude oil. There were no oil spills.
The ship was due to arrive on Wednesday at 5pm in the port of Fujairah. The tanker will undergo a check-up to ensure that it can resume its journey to Japan.
Captain Mousa Murad, Director of Fujairah port, said it was heading from Al Ruwais port to Japan when it was hit by a high tide caused by an earthquake in the Strait of Hormuz.
"The M. Star was navigating from Ruwais, UAE, to Japan when it was hit by a tremor and had to head to Fujairah for refueling and assessment of its condition before heading back to Japan."
