24 rescued as oil tankers collide off UAE, sparking fire

DUBAI — Twenty-four crew have been rescued after two oil tankers collided off the UAE, sparking at least one fire, the United Arab Emirates coast guard and a shipping company said on Tuesday.

British maritime security monitor Ambrey said the incident, which took place at a time of high tensions as an air war rages between nearby Iran and Israel, was "not security-related."

Shipping company Frontline said a fire was extinguished on its Front Eagle tanker after the collision with Adalynn, another oil transporter, 15 nautical miles off the UAE's Gulf of Oman coast.

"We are [also] aware of reports of a fire onboard the Adalynn following the collision," a Frontline statement said, adding: "There have been no reports of pollution at this time."

The UAE coast guard carried out "an evacuation mission involving 24 crew members of the oil tanker ADALYNN, following a collision between two ships in the Gulf of Oman," the UAE National Guard posted on X.

The incident took place close to the strategic Strait of Hormuz, a waterway between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran that carries one-fifth of global oil output. — Agence France-Presse