LONDON/ATHENS, May 7 (Reuters) – A Chinese-owned oil products tanker was attacked near the Strait of Hormuz on Monday, Chinese media outlet Caixin reported, as President Donald Trump launched a U.S. plan that day to help stranded vessels but suspended it a day later.
This was the first time a Chinese oil tanker has been attacked, a person with knowledge of the matter told Caixin on Thursday.
Traffic through the vital strait, through which 20% of the world’s oil and gas supplies pass, has been at a virtual standstill since the Iran conflict began on February 28.
The unnamed vessel’s deck caught fire and the ship was marked “CHINA OWNER & CREW,” according to Caixin.
It was not clear if any of the vessel’s crew were injured.
China remains a key buyer of Iranian oil, which has been targeted by a U.S. blockade in the Gulf of Oman.
China’s foreign ministry did not respond to an out-of-hours request for comment.
Trump said on Monday the U.S. would begin efforts to assist ships stranded in Hormuz, though he suspended it a day later, after Iran responded by launching drones and missiles at several ships and at its neighbours, particularly the UAE.
INCIDENT OCCURRED OFF UAE COAST
Maritime security sources said the Chinese vessel that was damaged was believed to be the Marshall Islands-flagged oil products and chemical tanker JV Innovation, which had reported a fire on its deck to nearby ships on Monday.
The incident took place off the United Arab Emirates coast in the Gulf close to Mina Saqr, the report said.
Due to the ongoing conflict between the U.S. and Iran, hundreds of ships and 20,000 seafarers remain trapped inside the Gulf, with traffic through Hormuz paralysed after renewed attacks on ships this week.
China’s foreign minister Wang Yi met with Iranian counterpart Abbas Araghchi in Beijing a day earlier and they discussed reopening the strait, a Chinese foreign ministry statement said.
The U.S. and Iran are edging toward a limited, temporary agreement to halt the war, sources and officials said, with a draft framework that would stop the fighting but leave the most contentious issues unresolved.
(Reporting by Beijing bureau, Jonathan Saul in London and Renee Maltezou in Athens; Editing by Toby Chopra and Bernadette Baum)
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