SANAA - Yemen admitted for the first time that a "terrorist act" was behind the Oct 6 explosion on a French supertanker, which was chartered by national oil company Petronas.

"The (inquiry) results, the evidence and the indications show that a premeditated act of terrorism with a small boat loaded with explosives was the cause," Interior Minister Rashad al-Alimi said, cited by the official Saba news agency.

French and US investigators already said last week the blast on the Limburg off the Yemeni coast, where a Bulgarian sailor was killed, was due to an attack.

"Security services have arrested several suspect individuals to question them ... and the investigation will continue to collect information concerning this act of terrorism," Alimi said.