Two tankers, the Kokuka Courageous under the Panamanian flag, and the tanker Front Altair belonging to the Norwegian shipowner Frontline, under the flag of the Marshall Islands, launched a distress signal this morning a few minutes apart, while they were sailing in Iranian waters, near the Strait of Hormuz.
Relief from Iran, the US Navy operating in these waters, and the Navy of Oman, assisted the 44 sailors from the two ships, and a tugboat continues to attempt to save the Kokuka Courageous, while the Front Altair would, according to several sources, already sunk. According to these same sources, the buildings were attacked using several torpedoes, without the origin of the attack being able to be determined, nor any claim having been made.
This incident comes as the Japanese Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe arrived in Tehran to meet the Iranian authorities, and in particular President Hassan Rouhani, in the hope of calming the strong tensions between Iran and the United States. Furthermore, it occurs one month after the sabotage of Saudi ships denounced by Riad.