twitterwhatsappcopylinkgoogleAdd Al Jazeera on GoogleinfoThe damage to the fully loaded Kuwait-flagged Al-Salmi crude oil tanker at Dubai Port [Handout/Kuwait Petroleum Corporation via Reuters]By Al Jazeera Staff, AFP and APPublished On 31 Mar 202631 Mar 2026An apparent Iranian drone attack on a fully loaded Kuwaiti crude oil tanker at Dubai Port sparked a fire that was later extinguished, authorities said.
Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC) said early on Tuesday that the Al-Salmi tanker was struck in an Iranian attack while anchored at the port in the United Arab Emirates, causing damage to the vessel and a fire on board.
KPC warned of a possible oil spill in surrounding waters, Kuwaiti state news agency KUNA reported.
Authorities in Dubai said there was a drone attack on the Kuwaiti oil tanker overnight, and response teams had contained the incident. They added that no oil leakage or injuries were reported, according to the Dubai Media Office.
Multiple loud explosions were heard in Dubai, starting at around 6 or 7pm local time (14:00-15:00 GMT) on Monday until about 1 or 2am on Tuesday (21:00-22:00 GMT on Monday), said Al Jazeera’s Zein Basravi, reporting from Dubai.
“These attacks seem to be getting closer, they’re getting louder, and one of them hit that oil tanker off the coast of the waters of Dubai,” he said.
“People certainly seem on high alert here again … You can hear those military jets overhead patrolling the skies,” Basravi added.
Work is now under way to assess damage to the tanker, said KPC, which, according to Lloyd’s List Intelligence data, is the parent company of Al Salmi’s registered owner and commercial operator.
The tanker was loaded with two million barrels of oil from Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, according to data from Lloyd’s and TankerTrackers. Lloyd’s listed the destination as Qingdao, China.
The strike on the Al-Salmi is the latest in a string of assaults on merchant vessels by missiles or explosive air and sea drones in the Gulf and Strait of Hormuz since the United States and Israel’s war on Iran began on February 28.
Earlier on Monday, a Greek-owned container ship located off the coast of Saudi Arabia’s Ras Tanura reported two separate incidents in which projectiles hit water near the vessel, maritime security experts said.
Meanwhile, the operator of a Thai cargo ship struck by a projectile near the Strait of Hormuz said a search team was able to board the vessel but did not locate its three missing crew members.
The Mayuree Naree was disabled after being hit just north of Oman earlier this month.
Al Jazeera’s Malik Traina, reporting from Kuwait City, said there have been “numerous attacks” across the Gulf on Tuesday, including in Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Bahrain.
“In the UAE, four people suffered minor injuries in Dubai’s al-Badaa area,” he said.
“And Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, all announced they’ve been attacked overnight and have intercepted missiles and drones.”
Later on Tuesday, the Dubai Media Office said four “Asian nationals” were injured when debris from an interception fell on homes in southern Dubai. The UAE said its air forces intercepted eight ballistic missiles, four cruise missiles and 36 drones launched from Iran on Tuesday.
Separately, Saudi Arabia said its air defences intercepted and destroyed 10 drones and eight ballistic missiles during a new wave of attacks.
“Ten drones were intercepted and destroyed over the past few hours,” the Saudi Defence Ministry said in a statement on X, citing a ministry spokesperson. It added that seven ballistic missiles targeting the Riyadh region and one aimed at the Eastern Province were also intercepted and destroyed.
The Saudi Press Agency said two people were injured in the al-Kharj province, with limited material damage to three homes and several vehicles there.
Explosions were also heard in Iraq, near the international airport of Erbil, the capital of Iraq’s semi-autonomous Kurdish region, an AFP news agency journalist said.
Qatar said on Tuesday that Gulf states were unified in calling for a de-escalation of the Middle East war.
“Our understanding is that there is a very unified position in the Gulf on calling for the de-escalation and an end to the war,” Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Majed al-Ansari told a regular news briefing.
Iran’s foreign minister on Tuesday insisted that Tehran’s attacks on the Gulf Arab states only target US forces, even after assaults have hit civilian targets throughout the region.
“Iran respects the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and considers it a brotherly nation,” Minister Abbas Araghchi posted on X, sharing a photo purportedly showing damage to a US aircraft at Prince Sultan Air Base in the kingdom.
“Our operations are aimed at enemy aggressors who have no respect for Arabs or Iranians, nor can provide any security … High time to eject US forces.”