Arab News Japan

TOKYO: The Mercer Street, a tanker that was attacked off the coast of Oman last week in the Middle East, is owned by Japan’s Imabari shipping company.

“Yes, it’s our ship,” Taihei Shipping Co. told Arab News Japan. “It is being utilized under contract by Zodiac Maritime, an Israeli-founded British shipping company.”

Mercer Street is a 49,992-tonne ship registered in Liberia. It was built in 2013.

The cause of the attack is unknown. However, U.S. Secretary of State Colin Blinken and British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab issued a statement condemning Iran, saying, “We are confident that Iran launched the attack using drones.”

Earlier this year, an Israeli and Iranian ship were damaged by explosions in the region.  

Shipping officials are concerned that escalating tensions between the two countries will hamper safe shipping.

Zodiac is a large shipowner run by Israeli businessman Eyar Offer and owns and operates about 160 containers, tankers and bulkers.

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism in Japan issued a warning letter to the Shipowners Association of Japan “to be on an alert.”

The representative of the Japanese company, Taihei Shipping, told Arab News Japan on August 4 that  “this attack should have not happened.”