Petronas tanker was not attacked, says PM
Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad said initial investigations had ruled out foul play in the explosion of a supertanker chartered to national oil company Petronas in Yemeni waters last Sunday.
Mahathir cited a Petronas report as attributing the blast to a technical problem on the 330m-long supertanker managed by French company, France Shipmanagement.
Yesterday, AFP quoted a French diplomat in Yemen as saying that the blast was caused by a deliberate attack on the tanker as it approached an offshore terminal some 700km east of Aden.
"The oil tanker was rammed by a small boat stuffed with explosives. It seems to be an attack in the same style as the USS Cole ," French Vice Consul Marcel Goncalves reportedly said.
For the rest of this story and more, subscribe for only RM150 a year. If you're already a subscriber, please sign in.
Sign in Subscribe now