All fingers pointed at the usual culprit with a long history leading to such incidents in the fire the broke out on the oil tanker opposite the Syrian coastal city of Baniyas, even the Syrian news agency did not rule out the explosion was due to a drone attack by Israel.
Later investigations concluded that the explosion was because of a mistake while fixing one of the balancing tanks to be filled later with water when loading off the ship's cargo.
3 of the crew members were killed by the explosion and the ensuing fire on the deck of the ship, the fire was put down by the other crew of the tanker.
Earlier reports suggested that an attack by a drone coming from the side of the Lebanese territorial waters hit the hull of the ship and its deck causing material damage in the hull and killing the crew on the deck, the only culprit with a history of such attacks would be Israel.
Israel started attacking ships when it bombed the USS Liberty navy ship in 1967 killing 34 of its servicemen and wounding 171 others including the ship's captain, the Israelis even fired at the lifeboats deployed by the ship in a heinous crime against international law.
In the past two years, Israel with its US and British patrons was targeting Iranian ships carrying oil to Syria to compensate for the oil stolen by the US-sponsored ISIS and the Kurdish SDF terrorists who later deliver the stolen Syrian oil to Israel. The tankers' war with Iran led to series of attacks and counterattacks against ships.
More about all the above in this report: Tanker Opposite Syrian Coast that Caught Fire is not Iranian Carrying Oil
