Oman’s Mina al Fahal terminal has suspended oil loading operations after an explosion near its single-buoy mooring (SBM) berths, according to two people familiar with the matter.The explosion occurred between SBM 1 and 2 berths and is alleged to have resulted from a drone attack, the sources said. The precise timing of the incident was not immediately established. The terminal could not be reached for comment outside office hours, according to a news agency Reuters.Shipping data from LSEG (London Stock Exchange Group) showed several supertankers anchored off the port on Friday. Mina al Fahal is one of Oman’s primary crude export facilities, situated on the Gulf of Oman, outside the Persian Gulf and beyond the disrupted Strait of Hormuz zone.The development follows Iranian state media reports from Wednesday claiming that Tehran had targeted a US military vessel described as hosting a “control and command center” as it approached Iranian territorial waters in the Gulf of Oman, an account that the US Central Command has denied.Oman has been playing a back-channel diplomatic role in US-Iran negotiations, making any destabilization of its territory particularly consequential for peace efforts.
