https://www.cnbc.com/2019/06/17/us-military-releases-new-images-of-japanese-oil-tanker-attack.

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P OL I TI CS

US military releases new images of Japanese oil

tanker attack
PUBLISHED MON, JUN 1 7 2019 6:19 PM EDTUPDATED T UE, JUN 18 2019 1:14 PM EDT

Amanda Macias@ A M A N D A _ M _ M A C I A S

KEY POINTS
 The Pentagon released declassified images Monday showing the sustained damage from one of the
oil tankers attacked last week.

 The U.S. military maintains that Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy is responsible for the
attacks.

 The Trump administration blamed Iran for the attacks on two oil tankers in the Gulf of Oman, which
is near Iran and the Strait of Hormuz, a vital shipping route through which much of the world’s oil
passes.
WATCH NOW

VIDEO01:35

Pentagon releases images it says shows tanker attack damage

WASHINGTON — The Pentagon released declassified images Monday showing

the sustained damage from one of the oil tankers attacked last week and
maintained that Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy was responsible.

The Trump administration blamed Iran for the attacks on two oil tankers in the
Gulf of Oman, which is near Iran and the Strait of Hormuz, a vital shipping route
through which much of the world’s oil passes.

The Pentagon said that the crew of one of the tankers, the Japanese Kokuka
Courageous, found an unexploded limpet mine on its hull following an initial
explosion. The crew abandoned ship and was rescued by the U.S. Navy’s USS
Bainbridge.

“Later that day, an Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Gashti Class patrol boat
approached Kokuka Courageous and was observed and recorded by a U.S. Navy
MH-60 helicopter removing the unexploded limpet mine from Kokuka
Courgeous,” the Pentagon said in a statement Monday.

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VIDEO04:43

Five experts on Iran-US relations after tanker attacks

“Iran is responsible for the attack based on video evidence and the resources and
proficiency needed to quickly remove the unexploded limpet mine.”
Imagery taken from a U.S. Navy MH-60R helicopter that allegedly shows Islamic Revolutionary Guard
Corps Navy after removing an unexploded limpet mine from the M/T Kokuka Courageous.

US Navy

Last week, the Japanese oil tanker owner said the vessel was struck by a
projectile and not by a mine, which is what U.S. officials assessed as the source of
the blast.

“We received reports that something flew towards the ship,” Yutaka Katada,
president of Kokuka Sangyo, said at a press conference Friday. “I do not think
there was a time bomb or an object attached to the side of the ship,” he said,
adding that a projectile landed above the waterline.

A U.S. Navy explosive ordnance disposal official, who spoke on the condition of
anonymity, reiterated that the characteristics of the blast fit the profile of a
limpet mine and not that of a torpedo.

“From a torpedo perspective, I would say no, because torpedos are designed to
strike below the water and the hole that we do see is above the waterline,” the
Navy official said Monday.

This photo is a view of hull penetration/blast damage sustained from a limpet mine attack on the
starboard side of motor vessel M/T Kokuka Courageous, while operating in the Gulf of Oman, June 13,
2019.

US Navy

Another U.S. Navy official explained that the profile of the attack showed that the
intent was not to sink the Kokuka Courageous.
“Generally to get water intrusion you want to blow a hole below the waterline”
said the official, who also spoke on the condition of anonymity. The official added
that if the blast occurred lower on the vessel it would be a tell-tale sign that the
attackers were looking to sink the ship.