'Flying Object' Struck Tanker in Gulf of Oman, Operator Says, Not a Mine

[spanone]

TOKYO — One of the tankers that were attacked in the Gulf of Oman was struck by a flying object, the ship’s Japanese operator said on Friday, disputing at least part of the account of United States officials who had blamed Iran for the attack.

“Our crew said that the ship was attacked by a flying object,” said Yutaka Katada, the president of the operator, Kokuka Sangyo.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Thursday that American intelligence agencies had concluded that Tehran was behind the disabling of two tankers in the Gulf of Oman, a vital conduit for much of the world’s oil. Senior American officials had already blamed Iran for similar attacks last month against four tankers in the same area. Iranian officials denied any involvement in the events, which have escalated tensions in the region.

American officials released video on Thursday that they said showed an Iranian boat crew removing a limpet mine attached to the hull of the damaged Kokuka Courageous, a tanker operated by Kokuka Sangyo.

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/14/world/middleeast/oil-tanker-attack-gulf-oman.html?action=click&module=Top%20Stories&pgtype=Homepage

[marble falls]

1. maybe from the US drone that filmed the Iranian small boat crew?

[spanone]

3. I was wondering about that last night when I saw that video....

[Cognitive_Resonance]

7. U.S., Saudi, or Israeli UAV? nt

[marble falls]

10. I bet that ass Pompeo knows exactly what nation did it and how. Another stable genius.

[malaise]

8. Ding ding

we have a winner

[watoos]

2. Yeah, they also said it was a torpedo.

Pompeo may be worse than Bolton.

So let me see, who should we believe, the operator of the tanker, or Milke Pompeo?

[marble falls]

11. That was a fine example of a rhetorical question.

[Brother Buzz]

16. Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead!

Modern torpedoes are underwater self-propelled explosive devices, but historically a torpedo was a naval mine.

That being said, most everyone will agree it's an archaic military term, but the latent historian in me felt the need to....

[Submariner]

4. The Japanese are going to screw up Bolton's whole "Tonkin Gulf 2" plan

Have they no shame?

Standby for a rage tweet about Japanese fake news soon.

[Ghost Dog]

5. Yes. Here from Kyodo News:

Last edited Fri Jun 14, 2019, 09:23 AM - Edit history (1)

TOKYO (Kyodo News) The Japanese operator of a tanker attacked near the Strait of Hormuz suggested Friday the vessel was hit by an incoming projectile, not by torpedo. Some crew members of the Kokuka Courageous, which was attacked twice in the major shipping route Thursday, have said they "witnessed a flying object" at the moment of the second attack, said Yutaka Katada, president of the Tokyo-based operator Kokuka Sangyo Co., at a press conference...

... All 21 Filipino crew members of the ship escaped in life rafts and were rescued by a U.S. Navy vessel, but they have returned to the ship and restored the reserve power system. One of the crew was slightly injured but is improving, Katada said.

The tanker, currently being towed to Khor Fakkan in the eastern part of the UAE, faces no danger of sinking or losing its freight or fuel, according to the company. The tanker had become unable to move on its own as its engine room became inoperable due to being filled with carbon dioxide, which crew members injected to prevent a fire before retreating, Katada said, adding the crew have already started discharging CO2...

https://english.kyodonews.net/news/2019/06/62ef3ac1628a-tanker-attacked-in-mideast-faces-no-danger-of-sinking-operator.html

So, how far away was this US Navy vessel at the time of the attack?

Edit: Rather perversely, then, Iranian PressTV continues to assert the following:

Iranian rescuers were the first to rush to the assistance of the two oil tankers after they sent a distress call, transferring all of their 44 crew members to Iran's southern shores.

https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2019/06/14/598476/Iran-oil-tanker-US-video-unexploded-mine

[demmiblue]

6. ...

[malaise]

9. The US bullshit story will soon fall apart

These are rank amateurs playing with people's lives

[dalton99a]

12. 25% tariff on Japan until the tanker crew change what they saw

[triron]

13. knr

[triron]

14. So is CNN or MSNBC reporting this yet??

[triron]

15. Some cngressional committee needs to start an investigation!

[triron]

17. knr