"The Kuwaiti giant crude oil tanker was subjected to a direct and malicious Iranian attack while in the anchorage area of Dubai Port in the UAE," official news agency KUNA reported, citing Kuwait's state-owned oil company.

There were no injuries, according to the report, and Dubai authorities later said firefighters had extinguished the blaze.

KUNA reported the tanker was fully laden at the time of the attack, which had caused "material damage to the ship's hull" and "the possibility of an oil spill in the surrounding waters".

Authorities in the United Arab Emirates said there had been no oil spill.

UAE authorities had indicated earlier that the tanker was targeted by a drone in Dubai waters. According to the Dubai government's Media Office, the ship's 24 crew members were safe.

Kuwait's military also said on Tuesday its air defences were responding to "hostile missile and drone attacks", according to an X post.

Maritime intelligence agency Vanguard and ship tracker MarineTraffic identified the ship as the Al Salmi, a 332-metre long Kuwait-flagged crude tanker.

Vanguard said it was "struck by an unknown projectile" 31 nautical miles northwest of Dubai.

MarineTraffic said in a post on X that the Al Salmi was en route to Qingdao, China, "carrying an estimated two million barrels of crude oil".

The oil-rich Gulf has borne the brunt of Iran's attacks in response to US-Israeli strikes that sparked the Middle East war late last month.

Tehran has threatened to target vital infrastructure across the Gulf, including energy sites.

bur-ceg/ane/rlp/ser

X