Iran says ship damaged by explosion in Red Sea

Iran said today that a merchant ship has been damaged by an explosion in the Red Sea, the latest in a series of shipping incidents in the Middle East.

The Iranian foreign ministry said the cargo ship Saviz was "damaged slightly" yesterday off the coast of Djibouti, and that the origin and cause of the explosion is under investigation. Vessel tracking shows that the Saviz is further north, in international waters between Eritrea and Saudi Arabia, where it has been for at least four years.

The ministry said the ship is used as a logistics hub "to establish maritime security… and the fight against pirates" in the region, and that the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) is aware of its mission.

The International Maritime Bureau (IMB) piracy report for 2020 shows no such incidents in the Red Sea, which is a crucial shipping route connecting the Gulf of Aden to the south with the Suez Canal. There was an aborted skiff attack on a bulk carrier in the Gulf of Aden in January.

There have been no claims of responsibility for yesterday's explosion. The region has seen a number of similar episodes over the past two years. Most recently, an Israeli-owned car carrier was hit by an explosion off the coast of Oman in late February. Further back, there was an explosion on an oil product tanker in the Saudi Arabian port of Jeddah late last year, and four tankers were damaged close to UAE territorial waters in May 2019.

The timing of the latest incident coincided with the resumption of talks on a rebooted Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) nuclear deal, which may result in the lifting of US sanctions in exchange for curbs on Tehran's atomic programme. Participants said that the first day was constructive, but that reaching a deal would take a long time.

Iran's Atomic Energy Organisation said today that the country's uranium enrichment production rate is "much greater than it was before the JCPOA", and that it has produced 55kg of 20pc enriched uranium since it restarted work in January.

By Ben Winkley and Nader Itayim