DUBAI- Investigators have found traces of explosive on a Japanese supertanker damaged near the Strait of Hormuz last week and conclude the ship was the target of an attack, the United Arab Emirates news agency said on Friday. The 31 crew aboard the 333-meter-long M.Star reported an explosion shortly after midnight on July 28, injuring one seaman but causing no oil spill or disruption to shipping in the strategic waterway. "An examination carried out by specialised teams has confirmed that the tanker has been the subject of a terrorist attack," the state news agency WAM said, quoting an unidentified coastguard source. "UAE explosives experts who collected and examined samples found a dent on the starboard side above the water line and remains of home-made explosives on the hull," the source said. A spokeswoman for shipowner Mitsui O.S.K. said the company could not confirm details of the WAM report. "The investigation on the tanker is still continuing, and while we are looking at all possibilities, the company has not heard anything that will help determine the cause of the damage," she said. A spokesman for the US Fifth Fleet, part of an international coalition of navies that patrol Gulf waters, confirmed US Navy divers had played a part in investigations but had no immediate comment on the UAE report. The report said the M.Star had left UAE waters to resume its voyage to Japan and trade sources confirmed the ship's departure.
