Front Altair Towed to UAE Waters

The damaged tanker Front Altair has been towed out of the Iranian waters and is currently anchored off the coast of Fujairah, UAE.

The vessel reportedly arrived at the anchorage on June 15, two days after it suffered a suspected attack and subsequent fire in the Gulf of Oman. During the towing operation the vessel was sprayed with water in order to cool down the hull, according to Iran’s Ports & Maritime Organization.

Front Altair’s final destination is currently unknown.

All 23 crew members that were rescued from the vessel have arrived safely in Dubai on Sunday, local media reports suggest.

The Front Altair was one of the two vessels that were “torpedoed” in the Gulf of Oman that day. The second vessel is the product tanker Kokuka Courageous, managed by Bernhard Schulte Shipmanagement (BSM).

Dutch salvage company Boskalis said that the insurers of both vessels appointed its subsidiary SMIT Salvage as the salvor for the vessels and their cargo.

Regarding Front Altair, Boskalis said that “a salvage team was flown in to execute the salvage operation on site with accompanying specialist equipment.” The team was expected to board the tanker during the weekend in order to evaluate the extent of the damages from the June 13 incident.

Kokuka Courageous, that had a methanol cargo on board at the time of the attack, was towed to the anchorage off Fujairah on June 13.

Source: World Maritime