Blast causes damage to oil tanker off Saudi Arabia

ISTANBUL / RIYADH

An explosion damaged an oil tanker off the coast of Saudi Arabia in the Red Sea, according to local sources.

The blast occurred on the MT Agrari, a Maltese-flagged, Greek-managed oil tanker, in Shuqaiq province near the border with Yemen.

The tanker suffered damage, sources said.

Saudi Arabia-led coalition forces fighting Houthis rebels in Yemen said later Wednesday that they foiled “terrorist acts” and destroyed an explosives-rigged boat belonging to the group in the southern Red Sea.

A commercial vessel suffered minor damage from shrapnel of the destroyed boat, according to the coalition.

“The terrorist acts of the Houthi militia with Iranian support threaten world shipping and trade,” it added.

Houthis in Yemen have not yet commented on the attack.

* Writing by Zehra Nur Duz in Ankara