US-Owned Oil Tanker 'SafeSea Vishnu' Hit By Suspected Iran Attack
Set On Fire In Persian Gulf Near Basrah
Set On Fire In Persian Gulf Near Basrah
Mar 12 2026
"Two oil tankers, including the US-owned SafeSea Vishnu, caught fire after reported explosive boat attacks in the Persian Gulf near Basra, Iraq. Officials said 25 crew members were rescued as flames and thick smoke engulfed one of the vessels along a key global oil shipping route.
Two fuel tankers were reportedly attacked late Wednesday near the southern coast of Basra in the northern Persian Gulf, triggering fires aboard both vessels and raising fresh concerns over security along key oil shipping routes. Iraqi officials said the tankers were struck by boats packed with explosives in waters close to Basra, near some of Iraq’s most important oil export terminals. The incident occurred along one of the busiest energy shipping corridors in the world.
The ships involved were the Maltese-flagged Zefyros oil tanker and the Marshall Islands-flagged Safesea Vishnu oil tanker. Vessel-tracking data showed the two tankers were anchored alongside each other when the fire began.
Images and videos circulating online showed a massive blaze at sea, with flames spreading across the vessels and into the surrounding water, while thick black smoke rose high above the water.
According to Iraqi authorities, at least one person was killed in the attack. Rescue teams later pulled 38 crew members from the burning vessels." Source
Vid: Three vids merged - two of ship/s burning and rescue operation on the crew of one of the ships.
One killed in attack on oil tankers off Iraq, rescue operation ongoing
Mar 12 2026
"An attack on two oil tankers near Iraq killed at least one crew member, authorities said on Thursday, as Iran carries out a campaign to disrupt global energy markets.
Farhan Al-Fartousi, from Iraq’s General Company for Ports, told state television that one crew member had been killed and 38 rescued while the “search continues for the missing.”
He did not specify the crew members’ nationalities or provide details on who was behind the attack, but said that one of the two ships was registered under a Maltese flag.
The Iraqi government’s media cell told national news agency INA that “two tankers were subject to sabotage.”
The Strait of Hormuz – the waterway carrying a fifth of the world’s oil – remains closed to almost all oil tankers, and Iran has vowed that not one litre of oil would be exported from the Gulf while its war with the United States and Israel continues.
US president Donald Trump said Wednesday that US forces have struck 28 Iranian mine-laying vessels more than a week into the Middle East war.
Images of a ship at sea with plumes of smoke rising from a huge fire, were broadcast by state television channel al-Ikhbariya. AFP could not verify the images.
An employee at Iraq’s Basra oil terminal told AFP that it was unclear “whether it was a drone attack or explosive-laded boats”.
The attack in Iraq comes just hours after the US embassy in Baghdad warned that Iran and Tehran-backed Iraqi armed groups might target US-owned oil facilities in Iraq." Source
Note: the story on this is still being clarified with some conflicting reports getting sorted out.

