Saudi Arabia, UAE, Norway send a joint letter to the UN security Council on attacks against oil tankers

oil tankers
oil tankers

The Permanent Missions of each of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Norway accredited to the United Nations have sent a joint letter to the United Nations Security Council, drawing attention to an incident in UAE territorial waters which caused damages to four oil tankers.

This came ina joint statement issued today by the Permanent Missions of each of the Kingdomof Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and the Kingdom of Norway accredited tothe United Nations regarding attacks on oil tankers. Following is the text ofthe statement:

"On 15May 2019, the Permanent Missions of the United Arab Emirates, the Kingdom ofSaudi Arabia and the Kingdom of Norway sent a joint letter to the UnitedNations Security Council, drawing attention to an incident in UAE territorialwaters on 12 May 2019 that inflicted grave damage to four oil tankers – twoSaudi-flagged, one Norwegian-flagged, and one Emirati-flagged vessel.

"It is an actof sabotage that affects the safety of international navigation and thesecurity of world oil supplies," said Abdallah Y. Al-Mouallimi, PermanentRepresentative of Saudi Arabia to the UN. "Consequently, the Kingdom of SaudiArabia condemns in the strongest terms these terrorist attacks and calls uponthe international community to take a firm stand towards those responsible forsuch provocative and subversive operations."

"Whilethe attacks did not result in any casualties, or spillage of oil or harmfulchemicals, they could have caused serious loss of life and an environmentalcatastrophe in the Gulf of Oman", Al-Mouallimi added.

"We're gladthe crew onboard was unharmed. However, the Norwegian vessel suffered materialdamages. Norwegian authorities are in the process of assessing the situation,in close cooperation with among others the Emirati authorities," says Norway'sAmbassador and Permanent Representative to the United Nations Mona Juul.

The attackstook place within UAE territorial waters, east of the port of Fujairah.Operations at the Port of Fujairah have continued as normal without anyinterruption. The UAE is taking all steps to protect commercial shipping andmaritime traffic and has adopted enhanced maritime safety and security measuresin the relevant areas.

"Theseattacks come at a time when responsible stakeholders across the region shouldwork together to lower tensions", underlined H.E. Lana Nusseibeh, Ambassadorand Permanent Representative of the UAE to the UN. "The UAE is cooperatingclosely with Saudi Arabia, Norway, France, and the United States to investigatethese attacks."

The UAE, Saudi Arabia and Norway also intend to formally notify the International Maritime Organization of these attacks and the threat they pose to international shipping".

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