The Sunday report speculated the ship may have been “trapped in an ambush by a branch of resistance axis,” referring to Iranian proxies in the region. The country’s hard-line Kayhan daily, whose editor-in-chief was appointed by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, alleged the Helios Ray was “possibly” on an “espionage” mission in the region, without offering any evidence to support the claim. The crew was unharmed in the blast on Friday, but the vessel was holed twice on both sides just above the waterline, according to American defence officials. The MV Helios Ray was in dry dock at Port Rashid. Iranian authorities have not publicly commented on the ship. Dryad Global, a maritime intelligence firm, identified the stricken vessel as the MV Helios Ray, a Bahamian-flagged roll-on, roll-off vehicle cargo ship. An Israeli-owned cargo ship hit by unexplained explosions in the Gulf of Oman arrived in Dubai's main port for repairs on Sunday. The blast hit as the ship was sailing from the Saudi port Dammam out of the Gulf of Oman, forcing it to turn to Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates, for inspection. The Helios Ray had discharged cars at various ports in the Persian Gulf before making its way out of the Middle East toward Singapore. The Saudi interception of the missile set off an apparent explosion over Riyadh that startled residents and scattered shell debris, without causing casualties. The group’s military spokesman Yahia Sarei added that another six explosive drones targeted “military positions” in the southwestern cities of Abha and Khamis Mushait. Increasingly Iran is also becoming fearful of improving relations between Israel and the Gulf states. Tensions between Israel and Iran remain fraught, especially in light of increased signs of rapprochement between Iran and the Biden administration. Meanwhile on Sunday, Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels claimed responsibility for firing a ballistic missile and nine bomb-laden drones at “sensitive sites” in Saudi Arabia’s capital Riyadh the night before. The MV HELIOS RAY is owned by HELIOS Ltd an Israeli company registered in the Isle of Man. ISWNews Analysis Group: The incident took place last night at 23:00 on the Bahamas-flagged MV Helios Ray, which was moving a cargo from the port of Dammam. Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz echoed concerns about Iran’s threats against Israel, adding in a speech that the army was “working to build up our forces and is preparing itself for any scenario, including one in which we would need to take operative action to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons.” In a speech at an army base on Sunday, Israeli military Chief of Staff Aviv Kochavi accused Iran of carrying out “operations against civilian targets,” a charge the army later confirmed was in reference to the suspected ship attack. The Arabian Gulf has turned into an arena for confrontation and possible conflict between Iran and Israel now that it has become certain that Iranian elements attacked the MV Helios Ray.The. Several Israeli officials hinted that they believed Iran was responsible for the explosion on the ship. Tehran denied any role in the suspected assaults, which happened near the Strait of Hormuz, a key oil chokepoint. Recent reports of behind the scenes cooperation between Saudi and Israel to counter Iranian activity are likely to influence any potential Iranian activity.Emirati officials did not respond to requests for comment on the vessel docking in the country.įriday’s blast on the ship, a Bahamian-flagged roll-on, roll-off vehicle cargo vessel, recalled a string of attacks on foreign oil tankers in 2019 that the U.S. The MV HELIOS RAY is owned by HELIOS Ltd an Israeli company registered in the Isle of Man.
Such activity would be commensurate with current tensions and Iranian intent to exercise forceful diplomacy through military means within its immediate area of interest. Whilst details regarding the incident remain unclear it remains a realistic possibility that the event was the result of asymmetric activity by Iranian military. The vessel appears to be returning to port of origin. The vessel is understood to have been approximately 44nm NW Muscat when the explosion occurred.
The vessel is understood to have been inbound Singapore from Danmmam Saudi Arabia. defence official said ripped holes in both sides of its hull. Reporting indicates that the Vehicle Carrier MV HELIOS RAY (IMO9690547) has suffered an explosion within the Gulf of Oman. The MV Helios Ray, a vehicle-carrier ship, was hit overnight between Thursday and Friday by a blast above the water line that a U.S.
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