A Liberian-flagged fuel oil tanker off the coast of Iraq has been identified to be carrying a “suspicious object” according to sailors, which could be a mine. The suspicious object was reported by authorities on Thursday, and comes as relations between the United States and Iran continue to sour. According to two private security companies, sailors think they have found a limpet mine on the tanker MT Pola, a floating fuel oil storage tanker that is Liberian-flagged but owned by a shipping company traded in the United States. The vessel serves Iraq’s SOMO. Limpet mines attach to the sides of ships near the surface of the water, usually place by a military diver, to later explode. The U.S. Navy’s 5 th Fleet is monitoring the situation, a year after the U.S. accused Iran of attacking oil tankers in the Strait of Hormuz with limpet mines. Tensions have escalated between […]