Just wondering, considering recent history……
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/c...away-jl96m2976
Cargo ship fireball in Dubai port seen 30 miles away
An explosion on board a cargo ship moored at Dubai’s main port sent a fireball high in the air that rattled windows and could be seen for miles around last night.
There was no immediate explanation for what caused the blast and subsequent fire, which left debris burning across the harbour side. Witnesses said that they saw an explosion “like the sun”, before a huge boom rang out.
The Dubai authorities said a container on board a small cargo ship had exploded as it came in to moor, playing down initial reports that an oil tanker had gone up in flames. They said no one had died or been injured, a remarkable outcome given the scale of the explosion, which could be seen from Dubai airport 30 miles away.
The blast, at the city’s Jebel Ali port, the largest in the Middle East, comes at a sensitive time in the Middle East. Israel and Iran have been involved in a covert tit-for-tat exchange of attacks on each other’s shipping activities, while the United States and Iran-backed militias have been striking each other in Iraq and Syria.
The United Arab Emirates, the federal state of which Dubai is the second biggest individual entity, is a key US ally and Iran has occasionally threatened to strike western targets there. However, there have been attempts at rapprochement recently and an attack on a ship in harbour would be unprecedented.
The blast happened without warning shortly before midnight local time, sending shock-waves that rippled through apartment buildings in the southern suburbs of Dubai, which stretches in a line along the coast from the city centre and airport towards Jebel Ali.
Nevertheless, the crew were said to have already been evacuated safely. The Dubai government’s media office released footage of a fire service ship blasting water at the blazing vessel, and said the fire had been brought under control by early Thursday morning……
. “The Jebel Ali fire is under full control and the area is now being cooled off,” Major General Rashid Thani al-Matrooshi, the head of Dubai’s civil defence, said.
Port officials insisted that the blast was caused by a “normal accident” and was not suspicious. They said services were unaffected and vessels could continue to sail.
There was no immediate word from the Pentagon, which regularly has warships docked in a separate part of the port.…..