TAIPEI, June 13 (Reuters) – An oil tanker chartered by Taiwan’s state oil refiner CPC Corp to carry fuel from the Middle East was suspected to have been attacked earlier on Thursday, a senior company official said.
Oil tanker Front Altair was carrying 75,000 tonnes of naphtha, a petrochemical feedstock, when it was “suspected of being hit by a torpedo” around noon Taiwan time (0400GMT), Wu I-Fang, CEO of CPC’s petrochemical division, told Reuters.
He said all crew members have been rescued.
The cargo is worth more than $30 million, according to estimates from trade sources. Wu did not give a value.
Front Altair was last seen off Iran in the Gulf of Oman after loading its cargo from Ruwais in the United Arab Emirates, according to shipping data on Refinitiv Eikon.
The ship was scheduled to arrive in Taiwan in July, Wu said.
CPC has started making plans to adjust its production and sales after the incident, including examining the company’s inventory, he said.
(Reporting by Liang-Sa Loh and Yimou Lee in TAIPEI; Additional reporting by Seng Li Peng and Florence Tan in SINGAPORE; Editing by Tom Hogue)
