L’Iran peut-être responsable de l’explosion sur un navire israélien, selon Israël

la dépêche Reuters

Explosion Reported on Car Carrier in Gulf of Oman – gCaptain
▻https://gcaptain.com/helios-ray-explosion-reported-car-carrier-gulf-of-oman

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A Bahamas-flagged ship, the MV HELIOS RAY, was hit by an explosion in the Gulf of Oman on Thursday, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) and a maritime security firm said on Friday.

The cause of the explosion is not clear.

“Investigations are ongoing. Vessel and crew are safe,” the UKMTO’s advisory notice said, advising vessels in the area to exercise caution.

The incident occurred at 2040 GMT, it said, but gave no details about a possible cause.

Maritime security firm Dryad Global said the MV HELIOS RAY was a vehicle carrier owned by Helios Ray Ltd, an Israeli firm registered in the Isle of Man. The ship was en route to Singapore from Dammam in Saudi Arabia.

A spokesman for Israel’s Transportation Ministry said it had no information about an Israeli vessel having been struck in the Gulf.

A company with the name Helios Ray Ltd is incorporated in the Isle of Man. The ship was managed by Stamco Ship Management, Refinitiv ship tracking data showed. Stamco Ship Management declined to comment when contacted by phone by Reuters.

“Whilst details regarding the incident remain unclear it remains a realistic possibility that the event was the result of asymmetric activity by Iranian military,” Dryad said in a report on the incident.

Refinitiv data shows the ship has set Dubai as its current destination.

The U.S. Navy’s Bahrain-based Fifth Fleet said it was aware of the incident and monitoring the situation.

compagnie israélienne, domiciliée dans l’Île de Man, probablement armateur d’un seul navire, pratique usuelle de séparation des risques
navire sous pavillon des Bahamas
exploitant maritime : société grecque

reste à savoir quel types de véhicule se trouvent à bord… peut-être exportation d’armes (véhicules blindés ou autres) ?

Israeli-owned vessel docked in Dubai after mysterious explosion | Conflict News | Al Jazeera
▻https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/2/28/israeli-owned-cargo-docked-in-dubai-after-mysterious-explosion

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The hulking Israeli-owned MV Helios Ray sat at dry dock facilities at Dubai’s Port Rashid on Sunday. Although the crew was unharmed in the blast, the vessel sustained two holes on its port side and two on its starboard side just above the waterline, according to American defence officials.
[…]
The Helios Ray discharged cars at various ports in the Gulf before making its way out of the Middle East towards Singapore. The blast hit as the ship was sailing from the Saudi port Dammam out of the Gulf of Oman, forcing it to turn to Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates, for inspection.

Iranian authorities have not publicly commented on the ship. The country’s hardline Kayhan daily, whose editor-in-chief was appointed by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, alleged the Helios Ray was “possibly” on an “espionag_e” mission in the region, without offering any evidence to support the claim. The _Sunday report speculated the ship may have been “trapped in an ambush by a branch of resistance axis”, referring to Iranian proxies in the region.

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Israeli-owned ship in Dubai for assessment after explosion | Reuters
▻https://www.reuters.com/article/gulf-security-int-idUSKCN2AS053

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An Israeli-owned ship hit by an explosion in the Gulf of Oman strategic waterway has arrived at a port in Dubai, where is it is due to be assessed in dry dock.

The MV Helios Ray, a vehicle-carrier ship, was hit overnight between Thursday and Friday by a blast above the water line that a U.S. defence official said ripped holes in both sides of its hull.

Israel’s defence minister on Saturday said that an initial assessment had found that Iran was responsible for the explosion. There was no immediate comment from Iranian officials.

The blue and white ship is now berthed in Dubai’s Port Rashid, having sailed from its position off the coast of Omani capital Muscat, where the explosion occurred.

Examination of Israeli-owned ship indicates Gulf blast was caused by mines — TV | The Times of Israel
▻https://www.timesofisrael.com/examination-of-israeli-owned-ship-indicates-gulf-blast-caused-by-mine

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Israeli officials increasingly believe explosion on vessel was operation by Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps, unsourced report says

An examination of damage to an Israeli-owned cargo ship currently docked in Dubai indicates an explosion that hit it in the Gulf of Oman was caused by mines covertly attached to the ship, according to a Sunday TV report.

Channel 13 news did not cite sources for the report, which contradicted earlier reported assessments in Israel that that blast was caused by missiles. An Israeli team is believed to be in Dubai to examine the ship following the suspected attack. The ship is undergoing repairs in Dubai.

Limpet mines are a type of naval explosive that attach to targets using magnets. The report speculated that the mines could have been attached to the ship’s hull during a stop at a port and later set off.

The network said that Israel increasingly believes a naval force from Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps was behind the attack. Channel 12 news raised the possibility that the explosion was the work of a commando team in a fast boat that attached explosives to the ship.

Nétanyahou menace l’Iran après l’attaque d’un navire de transport israélien en mer d’Oman
▻https://www.lemonde.fr/international/article/2021/03/01/benyamin-netanyahou-menace-l-iran-apres-l-attaque-d-un-navire-de-transport-i

Le premier ministre israélien, Benyamin Nétanyahou, a averti lundi 1er mars que son pays « frappera[it] » l’Iran « partout dans la région », après avoir accusé Téhéran d’être à l’origine d’une explosion à bord du cargo Helios-Ray, navire israélien qui bat pavillon des Bahamas.

« Il est clair que c’est un acte iranien. Et pour ce qui est de ma riposte, vous connaissez ma politique. L’Iran est le plus grand ennemi d’Israël et je suis déterminé à l’arrêter et nous allons le frapper partout dans la région », a déclaré M. Nétanyahou lors d’une interview à la radio, après des frappes nocturnes attribuées à Israël contre des éléments pro-iraniens en Syrie voisine.

« Plus important encore, l’Iran n’aura pas l’arme nucléaire, que ce soit dans le cadre d’un accord ou sans accord. C’est ce que j’ai dit à mon ami, le président [américain Joe] Biden », a ajouté le chef du gouvernement israélien, actuellement en campagne pour les législatives du 23 mars.

« Nous rejetons fermement cette accusation », car « la source de cette accusation est elle-même la moins crédible qui soit, ce qui en montre l’invalidité », a déclaré le porte-parole du ministère des affaires étrangères iranen, Saïd Khatibzadeh, dans une conférence de presse à Téhéran.