UN Calls for Investigation on Tanker Attacks

By Michelle Nichols
Friday, June 14, 2019

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called on Friday for an independent investigation to establish the facts and who was responsible for attacks on two oil tankers this week in the Gulf of Oman.

The United States blamed Iran for the attacks on Thursday, a charge Tehran rejected. Amid the rising tensions, Guterres said he was available to mediate if the parties agreed, however he added that "at the present moment we don't see a mechanism of dialogue possible to be in place."
Tehran and Washington have both said they have no interest in starting a war, but this has done little to assuage concerns that the two arch foes could stumble into a conflict. Guterres said the world cannot afford a major confrontation in the Gulf.

"It's very important to know the truth and it's very important that responsibilities are clarified. Obviously that can only be done if there is an independent entity that verifies those facts," he told reporters, adding that he believed only the Security Council could order a U.N. investigation.

U.N. political affairs chief Rosemary DiCarlo met with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif on Friday on the sidelines of a Shanghai Cooperation Council meeting in Kyrgyzstan, U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said. He added that Guterres and his staff had been in contact with many of the countries concerned to tell them of the need to avoid any escalation.

Guterres, who condemned the attacks on the tankers, was speaking on Friday alongside Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit after the pair met.

Gheit told reporters that he did not believe an Arab country was "trying to obstruct naval lanes or to shoot itself in the foot by acting the way we have seen in the Gulf of Oman or in the Hormuz Strait."

"My call to our Iranian brothers - be careful and reverse course because you're pushing everybody towards a confrontation that no-one would be safe if it happens," he told reporters. 

(Reuters reporting by Michelle Nichols; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Phil Berlowitz)

Categories: Tankers Casualties Terrorism

Related Stories

Keel Laying for Wind Flyer Trimaran Crew Boat

MODEC Gets Shell’s Gato do Mato FPSO Ops and Maintenance Job

Marine Masters Secures Wellhead Platforms Installation Job Off India

Shell Predicts 60% Rise in LNG Demand by 2040 with Asia Leading the Way

ADNOC Secures LNG Supply Deal with India's BPCL

Offshore Service Vessels: What’s in Store in 2025

Floating LNG Conversion Job Slips Out of Seatrium’s Hands

Sunda Energy Closing in on Jack-Up Deal for Chuditch-2 Appraisal Well

OPEC+ Passes on Oil Output Increase, Weighs the "Trump Effect"

Sembcorp Signs 10-Year LNG Supply Contract with Chevron

Current News

Eneos Scoops Jack-Up Drilling Contract Offshore Vietnam

Vietnam to Open Bidding Round for Three Offshore Oil Blocks

VARD Snags $125M Shipbuilding Deal for Subsea Construction Vessel

Mitsui’s STATS Lands Malaysian Pipeline Isolation Job

INEOS Wraps Up Acquisition of CNOOC’s US Oil and Gas Assets

Fire at Petronas Gas Pipeline in Malaysia Sends 63 to Hospital

Japan’s ENEOS Xplora, PVEP Ink Deal for Vietnam Offshore Block

CNOOC Makes Major Oil and Gas Discovery in South China Sea

Valeura’s Assets in Gulf of Thailand Remain Operational After Earthquake

Op-Ed: Kazakhstan’s National O&G Firm Positioning Itself as Global Energy Player

Subscribe for AOG Digital E‑News

AOG Digital E-News is the subsea industry's largest circulation and most authoritative ENews Service, delivered to your Email three times per week

https://accounts.newwavemedia.com