UAE says 4 ships subjected to ‘sabotage’ near its waters

Dubai, May 13 (IANS) Four commercial ships were "subjected to sabotage operations" near the UAE territorial waters in the Gulf of Oman, east of emirate Fujairah, UAE Foreign Ministry announced.

The ministry said in a statement on Sunday that the concerned authorities have taken all necessary measures, and are investigating the incident in cooperation with local and international bodies, Xinhua reported.

The statement, tweeted by the official news agency WAM, said that there had been no injuries or deaths on board the vessels as well as no leakage of harmful chemicals or fuel.

It called on the international community to assume its responsibilities to prevent such actions by parties attempting to undermine maritime traffic safety and security.

The ministry also described as "baseless and unfounded" rumours earlier Sunday about incidents taking place within the Port of Fujairah, saying that operations within the port were underway as normal, without any interruption.