Greek-Owned VLCC Hit by Drone in Iraqi Waters

A Greek-owned VLCC carrying around 2m barrels of Iraqi fuel oil was struck by a drone in Iraqi territorial waters on Wednesday. The 302,500 dwt New Andros was hit at around 06.00 local time east of Al-Faw, triggering a fire onboard. Iraqi rescue vessels extinguished the blaze and all 22 crewmembers were reported safe. Iraq's oil ministry said the ship suffered limited hull damage with no cargo leakage. The Panama-flagged, 2005-built tanker had loaded more than 2m barrels of fuel oil at Khor al-Zubair and was around 20 nautical miles offshore when attacked, according to vessel-tracking information cited by regional media. The ship is managed by Greece's New Shipping Limited, controlled by Adam Polemis. The attack came hours after another dramatic escalation around Hormuz. US forces struck five Iranian and Iran-linked tankers on Tuesday, while Tehran subsequently claimed attacks on eight tankers and other vessels operating around the strait. UK Maritime Trade Operations has also reported several merchant ships in the Gulf being subjected to disabling fire. Iran has threatened tankers in Bahraini and Kuwaiti waters in retaliation for US attacks on its shipping, raising the prospect that commercial vessels far beyond the immediate approaches to Hormuz are becoming targets.