CAIRO (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 02nd January, 2021) The oil tanker near Iraq's Basra Oil Terminal (BOT), which was found to have a limpet mine attached to it, does not pose a threat to the port's infrastructure or export activities, Iraq's State Organization for Marketing of Oil said Saturday.
A large limpet mine was found on the Liberia-flagged vessel earlier in the week. The tanker was fueling another vessel in the waiting area in Iraq's international waters, 28 nautical miles from the port when the mine was found.
"The whole situation is far away from the BOT facilities and there is no trace of risk neither to the crude oil export activities nor to the tankers arriving and departing, export is underway as planned," SOMO said in a statement issued to clarify media reports.
The vessel did not recently arrive in the port from any nearby country, as it had been anchored at the Khor Al-Zubair (KAZ) Terminal since early November, SOMO said seeking to dispel reports that the mining was linked to a spike in tensions in the Gulf between Iran, Israel and the US.
"The vessel in question has been anchored at the anchorage area near the KAZ Terminal since the 5th of November, 2020, and therefore did not recently arrive from any ports from countries in the region in contrast to what was reported on some websites," the state oil exporter said.
A day prior, Iraq's Interior Ministry said it gathered a specialized bomb squad that has begun an operation to diffuse the explosive device.
