Jebel Ali's Explosion Is Not Linked To An Iranian Ship
The Claim
An Iranian ship called J Pioneer was behind Jebel Ali's explosion in the UAE.
News posted on
Emerging story
Posts circulating online allege that the recent explosion in Jebel Ali Port in the United Arab Emirates was caused by a docked Iranian ship called Pioneer. Users added that the ship had set sail from Iran two days ago, while some implied that the explosion might have been done on purpose.
Misbar’s Analysis
MENA: Upon investigation, the Misbar team found the circulating misleading. An explosion did occur on the Jebel Ali port on Wednesday, but it was not linked to an Iranian ship. Washington Post and Reuters confirmed that the explosion that happened on the Ocean Trader cargo ship was due to flammable materials and the high temperatures in the region or friction. The Ocean Trader sails under the Comoros flag and is operated by the Dubai-based Inzu Ship Charter. Employees from the company confirmed reports and said they are cooperating with the relevant authorities.
A side-by-side comparison done by Misbar further confirms that the ship was not the J Pioneer. A screenshot taken from a video of the incident compared with images of the two vessels J Pioneer and Ocean Trader confirms that the ship's ship is the Ocean Trader. The J Pioneer has different yellow and blue compartments, which do not correspond to the ship on the video. The comparison can be seen below. Images of the ship were taken from the Marine Traffic Website.
Furthermore, although the J Pioneer did come from Rajaee Port in Iran, it is not an Iranian ship and sails under the Panama flag. The findings confirm that the claim is misleading. Both ships were docked at Jebel Ali at the time of the explosion; however, the cause was not J Pioneer but rather the Ocean Trader vessel.
