The US blamed Iran for the attacking the Kokuka Courageous and another tanker, the Norwegian-owned Front Altair, on Thursday, but Tehran denied the allegations. The Norwegian ship was “suspected of being hit by a torpedo”, according to Taiwan’s state-owned petrol company and the US claimed it had video evidence of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard removing an unexploded mine from the side of the Japanese tanker.
But Yutaka Katada, President of Kokuka Sangyo which owns the Japanese ship said there was no possibility the ship, carrying 25,000 tonnes of methanol, was hit by a torpedo.
Mr Katada said: “The crew told us something came flying at the ship, and they found a hole. Then some crew witnessed the second shot.”
The crew saw an Iranian military ship in the vicinity on Thursday night Japan time, Katada said.
Britain’s Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt backed the US assessment of the attacks.
He said: “We are going to make our own independent assessment, we have our processes to do that, but we have no reason not to believe the American assessment and our instinct is to believe it because they are our closest ally.”
Two tankers have been attacked in the Gulf of Oman (Image: EPA)
One of the ships, the Front Altair, was on fire after being hit by a suspected torpedo but the vessel’s owner denied reports it had sunk. The second ship, the Kokuka Courageous, was afloat but the hull was damaged. The tankers were both evacuated, with 44 crew members rescued.
Japanese Industry Minister Hiroshige Seko said on Friday that the incidents will be discussed at a meeting of G20 energy and environment ministers this weekend.
Mr Seko declined to comment on American officials blaming Iran, saying Japan is still investigating the incident, which occurred while Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was in Tehran trying to help ease rising tensions between the United States and Iran.
It comes as the standoff between the US and Iran is threatening to reach boiling point.
A similar attack took place a month ago when four tankers were struck in the area, which Washington blamed on Tehran.
It comes amid growing tensions in the region (Image: IRIBNEWS)
The tankers have both been evacuated (Image: IRIBNEWS)
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is currently visiting Iran in a bid to de-escalate the tensions.
Responding to the latest incident, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said: “Security is of high importance to Iran in the sensitive region of the Persian Gulf, in the Middle East, in Asia and in the whole world. We have always tried to secure peace and stability in the region.”
And Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said that people should not rush to blame Iran, RIA news agency reported.
Prime Minister Theresa May’s spokesman said Britain is seeking to establish the facts of what happened while the UK Maritime Trade Operations, which is part of the Royal Navy, urged “extreme caution”.
The incident took place in the Gulf of Oman (Image: EXPRESS)
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif branded the timing “suspicious” and called for regional dialogue.
He tweeted: “Reported attacks on Japan-related tankers occurred while PM @AbeShinzo was meeting with Ayatollah @khamenei_ir for extensive and friendly talks.
“Suspicious doesn’t begin to describe what likely transpired this morning. Iran’s proposed Regional Dialogue Forum is imperative.”
Front Altair, owned by Frontline, was headed to Taiwan carrying 75,000 tonnes of petroleum product naphtha.
The hull of Kokuka Courageous has been damaged (Image: BALTIC SEA SHIPPING)
And Bernhard Schulte Shipmanagement’s tanker Kokuka Courageous was transporting methanol from Saudi Arabia to Singapore.
The Gulf of Oman connects the Arabian Sea with the strategic Strait of Hormuz, which then runs to the Persian Gulf.
It borders Iran and Pakistan on the north, Oman on the south, and the United Arab Emirates on the west.
Speaking yesterday after talks with the Iranian President, Mr Abe warned that any “accidental conflict” must be avoided.
A similar attack took place a month ago in which four tankers were struck in the area (Image: GETTY)
He met Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei today, for the second and final day of his visit.
Japan’s chief cabinet secretary Yoshihide Suga said that Mr Abe’s trip aimed to help ease tensions in the Middle East but not specifically between Tehran and Washington.
Iran is poised to break the nuclear deal which US President Donald Trump pulled out of last year, branding it “decaying and rotten”.
The accord, reached in 2015 by China, Russia, France, Germany, the United Kingdom and the US, saw Tehran agree to limit its enrichment of uranium in exchange for the lifting of tough sanctions.