15OCT2019 - NEWS - Iran’s oil exports face new security threat

Iran’s oil exports — already hurting from US sanctions — were struck a further blow on Friday when one of the country’s tankers, the Sabiti, was rocked by explosions as it sailed in the Red Sea near the Saudi port of Jeddah.

It was the latest in a list of incidents involving oil facilities and shipping that have engulfed the Middle East of late, amid acrimony between the US and Iran in the world’s largest oil-producing region.

News of the explosions on the Sabiti, a Suezmax tanker, saw ICE Brent crude futures spike more than 2% to above $60/b, before easing.

The National Iranian Tanker Company, which owns the tanker, confirmed the explosion in a statement, and said the oil leakage from the Suezmax had been stopped and the situation was under control.

The Sabiti has been regularly used by Iran to export crude, even under current US sanctions, loading oil from its key terminals such as Kharg Island, Larak Island and Bandar Abbas in recent months.