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Iraqis defuse mine on Dynacom suezmax

Bomb defusal experts successfully removed an explosive device stuck to the hull of a tanker near the Iraqi port of Al-Faw on Saturday, the latest in a series of mine scares hitting tanker shipping in the Middle East.

The mine was discovered on Thursday on Dynacom’s Pola suezmax leading to the crew being evacuated.

The ship was being used by Iraq’s State Oil Marketing Organization as floating storage for high sulphur fuel oil. It was transferring fuel to another ship when the mine was detected.

Splash has reported on a number of mine incidents in recent months, with security experts often linking the attacks to Houthi rebels from Yemen.

Sam Chambers

Starting out with the Informa Group in 2000 in Hong Kong, Sam Chambers became editor of Maritime Asia magazine as well as East Asia Editor for the world’s oldest newspaper, Lloyd’s List. In 2005 he pursued a freelance career and wrote for a variety of titles including taking on the role of Asia Editor at Seatrade magazine and China correspondent for Supply Chain Asia. His work has also appeared in The Economist, The New York Times, The Sunday Times and The International Herald Tribune.
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