Tanker reports external explosion off Oman coast, crew safe, UKMTO says

DUBAI/OSLO, May 26 (Reuters) - ‌United Kingdom ​Maritime ​Trade Operations said on Tuesday that a tanker had reported an external explosion on ‌the vessel's port side, close to the waterline, ⁠60 nautical miles off Oman's capital Muscat.

UKMTO said the ‌vessel, identified as the Olympic ‌Life, and its crew were safe, although the tanker reported some bunker fuel had been discharged ​into the sea. It said the cause of the incident was unknown.

According to MarineTraffic vessel-tracking ⁠data, the Greek-owned Very Large Crude Carrier was sailing past Muscat at ​around 0700 GMT, heading out of the Gulf of Oman, and was not carrying ​cargo.

The ship's technical manager, Springfield ‌Shipping, said the vessel was struck by an unidentified object at about 0920 ⁠GMT, but remained stable and operational.

"An initial assessment indicated that there was damage to one of the vessel's ⁠bunker tanks. A sheen was reported in the water after the ​incident," it said in a statement to Reuters, adding that the spill had since been contained.

The vessel is owned ‌by Athens-based Olympic Shipping & Management, the successor to Olympic Management founded by late ‌shipping magnate Aristotle Onassis, according to the Onassis Foundation's ⁠website.

(Reporting by Ahmed Elimam ‌and Jana Choukeir; ​Additional reporting by Nerijus Adomaitis in Oslo; Editing by Bernadette Baum, Alison Williams, Rod ‌Nickel)

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