Iraqi Jets Hit 2nd Supertanker
Iraqi warplanes fired an Exocet missile into the Turkish supertanker M. Ceyhan today, setting it ablaze in the Persian Gulf near Iran’s Kharg Island oil terminal, marine salvage experts reported.
Bahrain-based maritime salvage personnel said the 226,145-ton Turkish ship was “abandoned by its crew after the missile blast ignited a huge fire in the stern section.”
No details on casualties were immediately available.
The M. Ceyhan was raided at dawn about 100 miles south of Kharg at almost the same location where another Turkish supertanker, the M. Vatan, was attacked Tuesday. The Vatan lost about 20% of its load of about 350,000 tons of oil and was being towed to Sirri for unloading and repair. Winds diverted the oil slick to Iranian shores.
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