On Wed, 2010-07-28 at 11:27 -0500, Stratfor wrote:
STRATFOR
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July 28, 2010
IRAN, JAPAN: CURIOUS INCIDENT IN THE STRAIT OF HORMUZ
Japanese-owned Mitsui O.S.K. shipping lines said July 28 that an explosion occurred aboard the M. Star, a Very Large Crude Carrier (VLCC) in the Strait of Hormuz carrying about 2.3 million barrels of crude from Das Island Port in the United Arab Emirates to markets in Japan. The company said it believes the explosion was caused by an attack on the ship around 12:30 a.m. local time (2030 GMT) less than ten miles from the United Arab Emirates and Oman, which controls the tiny sliver of land at the northern tip of the peninsula forming the strait. The alleged explosion occurred on the starboard side of the ship's stern, just adjacent to the bridge, knocking the lifeboat off its rigging. Several hatches on the starboard side were also damaged. Mitsui reports that one crewmember was slightly injured in the incident, and the ship is currently en route to the port of Fujairah in the United Arab Emirates in order to assess the damages, sailing under its own power.
