An explosion occurred off the port of Jeddah, in Saudi Arabia, on board an oil tanker owned by a Singaporean shipowner who stated that the outbreak, followed by several fires, was of "external origin".
Saudi authorities did not immediately confirm the explosion, which, according to the UK's Office of Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO), occurred on Sunday in front of the key Red Sea port and distribution center for Saudi oil giant Aramco.
Saudi authorities claim that the damaged oil tanker was hit by an unspecified boat-bomb in a "terrorist attack".
According to the source, the attack resulted in a fire and damage to the oil, but no casualties.
"The oil tanker BW Rhine was hit from the outside while unloading in Jeddah by a bomb that caused an explosion and a fire on board," Singapore-based Hafnia owner said in a statement, without providing further details.
Last month, an explosion shook a Greek tanker in the Saudi port of Al-Shuqaiq in southern Saudi Arabia.
The Riyadh-led military coalition in action in Yemen in the war against the Houthi rebels, had attributed the responsibility for this act to the latter who, supported by Iran, have intensified attacks against neighboring Saudi Arabia in retaliation for the military campaign in Yemen.
