The National Iranian Tanker Company, which owns the ship, said the hull of the Sabiti was hit by two separate explosions off the Saudi port of Jeddah, saying they were “probably caused by missile strikes”.
Oil prices surged more than two percent on the news, which raised fresh supply concerns with tensions still high after last month’s attacks on two Saudi crude facilities. The blasts come just weeks after two of Saudi Arabia’s biggest oil installations were hit, wiping out five percent of global production.