A Singapore-flagged oil tanker was hit by an explosion  off the Saudi port city of Jeddah Monday, AFP reported quoting vessel’s owner. This is the latest apparent strike on energy sector targets in the kingdom.

Tanker BW Rhine that was struck by the explosion is owned by Singapore-based shipping company Hafnia. All 22 sailors aboard escaped unhurt, however, Hafnia did not exclude the possibility of an oil spill.

“BW Rhine has
been hit from an external source whilst discharging at Jeddah… causing an
explosion and subsequent fire onboard,” Hafnia said in a statement, without specifying what struck the vessel.

Also Read: Explosion rocks Greek-operated tanker in Saudi port

“It is
possible that some oil has escaped from the vessel, but this has not been
confirmed and instrumentation currently indicates that oil levels on board are
at the same level as before the incident,” Hafnia said.

The United Kingdom Marine Trade Operations (UKMTO), which is part of the British royal navy said it was aware of an explosion and warned vessels in the area to exercise “extreme caution”.

No group has so far claimed responsibility for the alleged attack, but it comes as Iran-backed Huthi rebels in neighbouring Yemen step up cross-border strikes against Saudi targets in retaliation for a five-year military campaign led by Riyadh.

As far as other previous  attacks are concerned, an attack rocked a Greek-operated oil tanker docked at
Saudi Arabia’s southern port of Shuqaiq, was also blamed on Yemen’s Huthi
rebels.

The blast, however, did
not report any injury but Dryad Global, a British maritime intelligence firm,
claimed that the blast was caused by a “water-borne improvised explosive
device” launched by the Huthis.

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Meanwhile, Saudi
Arabia has repeatedly accused regional rival Iran of supplying quality weapons
to the Huthis, a claim which Iran denies.

So far, tens of
thousands of people, mostly civilians, have been killed and millions displaced
in Yemen’s war, which is labelled as world’s worst humanitarian disaster by the
United Nations.