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CNN Sunday Morning

Investigation Into Tanker Fire Continues

Aired October 06, 2002 - 08:02   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Now, to that tanker fire off the coast of Yemen we've been telling you about. It's still unclear what caused the French oil tanker to explode today. At this hour, that fire is still burning. Some reports say the ship is in danger of sinking.
French officials are calling it a terrorist attack; Yemeni officials deny that. The French say a small boat filled with explosives rammed the tanker, just like the USS Cole attack in October 2000, but Yemeni officials insist the explosion was internal to the vessel and was an accident.

There are reports this hour that at least 12 of the 25 people on board the tanker have been rescued, but the fate of the others is unknown. Lots of very sketchy details for you -- actually, very few details for you at this point.

Is today's tanker explosion an accident, or a copy of the USS Cole attack? That's the question we have on our mind this morning, of course, and joining us on the line with some insight is CNN security analyst Mike Brooks. Mike, I'm going to guess you're going to tell me it's too early to tell.

MIKE BROOKS, CNN SECURITY ANALYST: Well, it is early, but with all indications early on during -- after the Cole attack, Miles, the Yemeni officials also said that it was not a terrorist attack." So, this is a some of the same kind of the thing we were hearing after the Cole attack.

But early, you know, again, early on -- there were witnesses that did see this -- has a lot of similarities, as everyone can see, to the Cole attack. If there is, I'm sure the U.S. will be offering assistance to the French government, as they usually do, in case -- just in case this was terrorism, and U.S. can -- can send some forensic teams in to assist them in determining whether it was a terrorist attack or not.

O'BRIEN: Let me as you this, first of all, we had a report earlier that this might have happened as far as five miles offshore -- how much does that change your thinking of about what might have happened?

BROOKS: Well, if it was five miles offshore, it wouldn't really change too much. Hopefully, that tanker will not -- will not break up and sink. If not -- if it doesn't, then they can get some forensics experts in to do some swabbings of the hull, even though it was on fire, it will still leave some explosive residue, and they will be able to then to determine whether they're -- it was the same type of bomb that was used against the USS Cole.

O'BRIEN: Let me ask you this, if it's five miles offshore -- I'm going to put you on the spot, maritime law, would that be international waters and would that change the way this investigation might go?

BROOKS: In the Gulf, I am not sure. I am not sure about that, but in the Gulf of (UNINTELLIGIBLE), five miles offshore, could still -- could be international waters, it could be Yemeni waters, but that I'm not sure of.

O'BRIEN: All right, finally one thought about U.S. forces, covert or otherwise, that might be in Yemen -- is it safe to speculate here that there's a fair number of U.S. operatives in Yemen given the focus that Yemen has been, since the 9/11 attacks, actually really since the Cole attack?

BROOKS: No, there have been, there have been both U.S. military, and U.S. military intelligence and U.S. law enforcement in Yemen, still working on the Cole investigation. So, I'm sure any resources will come into play, if it's asked for by the French government. But you know, with our experience there and also our experience with the Yemeni government, I'm sure the French would call upon our assistance, and if they didn't, then, you know, I think there that they should.

O'BRIEN: And just to underscore this, when we hear the Yemenis dismissing terrorism, almost summarily, immediately, we take that with a pinch of salt. There's a lot of sensitivity there. Just give us a little sense of why.

BROOKS: Well, as we know, this is the ancestral home of Osama bin Laden. The Yemenis were trying to distance themselves early on, and say, oh no, during after the Cole attack, saying that their government supports the United States in our efforts, but as we know, there is strong support in this region and in all of Yemen for Osama bin Laden, and you know, maybe this is just a sign to show that al Qaeda's resolve is strong against any U.S. allies.

O'BRIEN: Mike Brooks, who looks at matters relating to law enforcement and terrorism for us, we appreciate you being with us. We'll check in with you a little bit later, as soon as we get a few more facts -- Rudi.

RUDI BAKHTIAR, CNN ANCHOR: Well, for more on the French tanker explosion off of Yemen, we head to Paris, and CNN's Jim Bittermann who's standing by there.

Jim, what can you tell us?

JIM BITTERMANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Rudi, just as Miles said, when we get more facts -- the facts are in short supply here this morning. We still have the contradiction that exists between what the Yemeni government says, including now the minister of transport of the Yemeni government, what they say have happened. They say this was simply an accident that occurred as the supertanker was maneuvering off the coast.

On the other hand, a French military source is quoted as saying that there's every reason and every indication that this was a terrorist attack, and that is based on the fact apparently, a small boat was seen to approach the supertanker at the very moment that the explosion took place, and this, of course, as Mike Brooks was talking about earlier, brought instantly to mind the case of the USS Cole, which was attacked in just this way, just down the coast in the Port of Aiden (ph), not very far away from where the explosion of this supertanker took place this morning.

French diplomatic sources said of the 25 crewman aboard the Limburg, 12 have been injured and 13 are still unaccounted for. So, I think that one of the things that they'll be very interested in hearing from -- one of the sources they're going to be very interested in hearing from are those crewman who understand what they saw and heard in the instance just before that supertanker blew up -- Rudi.

BAKHTIAR: Jim, what are they French officials saying that their next step is going to be?

BITTERMANN: Well, I'm sure they'll be investigations, what their -- what we're waiting for is the communique. They have been -- the Foreign Ministry here has said that it's going to issue a communique, which could help to clear things up some time later on the day. So, we're waiting to see what that's all about. My guess is that they would be very heavily involved the ground right now with the Yemeni authorities to investigate this, and find out exactly what happened.

Yemen, of course, has been very cooperative with American authorities who are interested in investigating the USS Cole, and as a consequence there would be every reason for them to be cooperative with French authorities as they look into this attack. It's not, by the way, the first time -- if this is -- if this does turn out to be a terrorist attack, it's not the first time since September 11 that the French have been attacked -- there was also an attack on French ship builders in Karachi, Pakistan earlier, in which seven -- 11 people were killed in that attack -- on a bus in Karachi -- Rudi.

BAKHTIAR: I understand that the ship was coming from Iran, it's going to Yemen. How significant is that, or does that play into what the officials are saying or thinking about who attacked, possibly, the ship, if it was attacked?

BITTERMANN: Well, I think this is a fairly normal route. As I understand it, this would be a very normal course for a ship to be taking. It was on its way from Iran with 400,000 barrels of oil on it; it was going to take on more oil in Yemen, and then, we assume, and think that the destination was France after that, although that has not been confirmed, but it's a fairly normal course of events.

On your maps, if you can see, the -- where Yemen is located, you see that if you're trying to get to the Mediterranean Sea, which is where France has its main petro ports on -- in the Marseille area for instance, on the Mediterranean, you'd go through the Suez Canal, down the Red Sea, past Yemen, and into the Persian Gulf, where you would pick up oil, and then come back exactly reverse that procedure, up the Red Sea through the Suez Canal and into the Mediterranean.

So, it's a fairly normal course of events that oil is passing along this coast, and one of the things the Yemeni's have said is that it's a very difficult coast to patrol, there's an awful lot of very valuable oil passing just a few miles offshore -- Rudi.

BAKHTIAR: OK, thank you, Jim Bittermann, reporting from Paris.

We have Faris Al-Sanabani on the phone with us. He is calling us from San'a, Yemen, I understand. Mr. Al-Sanabani, can you hear me?

FARIS AL-SANABANI, REPORTER, "YEMEN OBSERVER": Yes, I can, go ahead.

BAKHTIAR: Can you please tell me what you're hearing in Yemen, about the explosion?

AL-SANABANI: The latest news that we are getting at the "Yemen Observer" is that the 24 out of the 25 French -- the crew -- the ship's crew members have been found and rescued. One -- they're still searching for one that is missing, and also all branches of the Yemeni security force are there to investigate into the incident of the Limburg, and they think it's too early, but later in the day the government should come with a statement to explain exactly what happened this morning.

BAKHTIAR: Were there any witnesses? What have you heard in terms of what people saw?

AL-SANABANI: What I heard is that earlier in the morning, the government received a radio from the ship saying that it is on fire, and there has been an explosion on the ship, and they sent a boat to rescue the people. There was no talks of any criminal or terrorist acts at that stage.

Later on in the day, the government is now looking into the possibility of a terrorist attack. There is nothing that has been defined. Earlier in the day, the government made a statement that it's not a terrorist act, but until now, we're still waiting to hear and see what will come out.

BAKHTIAR: Any idea on when they're going to be making a statement?

AL-SANABANI: Later on, later on that day, but as you understand, the Yemeni navy -- the Yemeni shore extends more than 2,010 kilometers offshore, and they have a very weak navy, so definitely they've called once and once again, asking for help in strengthening their navy and securing their shores, and that is why they're looking into the possibility of a terrorist attack or anything that would come out from that incident.

BAKHTIAR: All right, thank you, Faris Al-Sanabani, a reporter from the "Yemen Observer." Thank you for that report.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com








Aired October 6, 2002 - 08:02   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Now, to that tanker fire off the coast of Yemen we've been telling you about. It's still unclear what caused the French oil tanker to explode today. At this hour, that fire is still burning. Some reports say the ship is in danger of sinking.
French officials are calling it a terrorist attack; Yemeni officials deny that. The French say a small boat filled with explosives rammed the tanker, just like the USS Cole attack in October 2000, but Yemeni officials insist the explosion was internal to the vessel and was an accident.

There are reports this hour that at least 12 of the 25 people on board the tanker have been rescued, but the fate of the others is unknown. Lots of very sketchy details for you -- actually, very few details for you at this point.

Is today's tanker explosion an accident, or a copy of the USS Cole attack? That's the question we have on our mind this morning, of course, and joining us on the line with some insight is CNN security analyst Mike Brooks. Mike, I'm going to guess you're going to tell me it's too early to tell.

MIKE BROOKS, CNN SECURITY ANALYST: Well, it is early, but with all indications early on during -- after the Cole attack, Miles, the Yemeni officials also said that it was not a terrorist attack." So, this is a some of the same kind of the thing we were hearing after the Cole attack.

But early, you know, again, early on -- there were witnesses that did see this -- has a lot of similarities, as everyone can see, to the Cole attack. If there is, I'm sure the U.S. will be offering assistance to the French government, as they usually do, in case -- just in case this was terrorism, and U.S. can -- can send some forensic teams in to assist them in determining whether it was a terrorist attack or not.

O'BRIEN: Let me as you this, first of all, we had a report earlier that this might have happened as far as five miles offshore -- how much does that change your thinking of about what might have happened?

BROOKS: Well, if it was five miles offshore, it wouldn't really change too much. Hopefully, that tanker will not -- will not break up and sink. If not -- if it doesn't, then they can get some forensics experts in to do some swabbings of the hull, even though it was on fire, it will still leave some explosive residue, and they will be able to then to determine whether they're -- it was the same type of bomb that was used against the USS Cole.

O'BRIEN: Let me ask you this, if it's five miles offshore -- I'm going to put you on the spot, maritime law, would that be international waters and would that change the way this investigation might go?

BROOKS: In the Gulf, I am not sure. I am not sure about that, but in the Gulf of (UNINTELLIGIBLE), five miles offshore, could still -- could be international waters, it could be Yemeni waters, but that I'm not sure of.

O'BRIEN: All right, finally one thought about U.S. forces, covert or otherwise, that might be in Yemen -- is it safe to speculate here that there's a fair number of U.S. operatives in Yemen given the focus that Yemen has been, since the 9/11 attacks, actually really since the Cole attack?

BROOKS: No, there have been, there have been both U.S. military, and U.S. military intelligence and U.S. law enforcement in Yemen, still working on the Cole investigation. So, I'm sure any resources will come into play, if it's asked for by the French government. But you know, with our experience there and also our experience with the Yemeni government, I'm sure the French would call upon our assistance, and if they didn't, then, you know, I think there that they should.

O'BRIEN: And just to underscore this, when we hear the Yemenis dismissing terrorism, almost summarily, immediately, we take that with a pinch of salt. There's a lot of sensitivity there. Just give us a little sense of why.

BROOKS: Well, as we know, this is the ancestral home of Osama bin Laden. The Yemenis were trying to distance themselves early on, and say, oh no, during after the Cole attack, saying that their government supports the United States in our efforts, but as we know, there is strong support in this region and in all of Yemen for Osama bin Laden, and you know, maybe this is just a sign to show that al Qaeda's resolve is strong against any U.S. allies.

O'BRIEN: Mike Brooks, who looks at matters relating to law enforcement and terrorism for us, we appreciate you being with us. We'll check in with you a little bit later, as soon as we get a few more facts -- Rudi.

RUDI BAKHTIAR, CNN ANCHOR: Well, for more on the French tanker explosion off of Yemen, we head to Paris, and CNN's Jim Bittermann who's standing by there.

Jim, what can you tell us?

JIM BITTERMANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Rudi, just as Miles said, when we get more facts -- the facts are in short supply here this morning. We still have the contradiction that exists between what the Yemeni government says, including now the minister of transport of the Yemeni government, what they say have happened. They say this was simply an accident that occurred as the supertanker was maneuvering off the coast.

On the other hand, a French military source is quoted as saying that there's every reason and every indication that this was a terrorist attack, and that is based on the fact apparently, a small boat was seen to approach the supertanker at the very moment that the explosion took place, and this, of course, as Mike Brooks was talking about earlier, brought instantly to mind the case of the USS Cole, which was attacked in just this way, just down the coast in the Port of Aiden (ph), not very far away from where the explosion of this supertanker took place this morning.

French diplomatic sources said of the 25 crewman aboard the Limburg, 12 have been injured and 13 are still unaccounted for. So, I think that one of the things that they'll be very interested in hearing from -- one of the sources they're going to be very interested in hearing from are those crewman who understand what they saw and heard in the instance just before that supertanker blew up -- Rudi.

BAKHTIAR: Jim, what are they French officials saying that their next step is going to be?

BITTERMANN: Well, I'm sure they'll be investigations, what their -- what we're waiting for is the communique. They have been -- the Foreign Ministry here has said that it's going to issue a communique, which could help to clear things up some time later on the day. So, we're waiting to see what that's all about. My guess is that they would be very heavily involved the ground right now with the Yemeni authorities to investigate this, and find out exactly what happened.

Yemen, of course, has been very cooperative with American authorities who are interested in investigating the USS Cole, and as a consequence there would be every reason for them to be cooperative with French authorities as they look into this attack. It's not, by the way, the first time -- if this is -- if this does turn out to be a terrorist attack, it's not the first time since September 11 that the French have been attacked -- there was also an attack on French ship builders in Karachi, Pakistan earlier, in which seven -- 11 people were killed in that attack -- on a bus in Karachi -- Rudi.

BAKHTIAR: I understand that the ship was coming from Iran, it's going to Yemen. How significant is that, or does that play into what the officials are saying or thinking about who attacked, possibly, the ship, if it was attacked?

BITTERMANN: Well, I think this is a fairly normal route. As I understand it, this would be a very normal course for a ship to be taking. It was on its way from Iran with 400,000 barrels of oil on it; it was going to take on more oil in Yemen, and then, we assume, and think that the destination was France after that, although that has not been confirmed, but it's a fairly normal course of events.

On your maps, if you can see, the -- where Yemen is located, you see that if you're trying to get to the Mediterranean Sea, which is where France has its main petro ports on -- in the Marseille area for instance, on the Mediterranean, you'd go through the Suez Canal, down the Red Sea, past Yemen, and into the Persian Gulf, where you would pick up oil, and then come back exactly reverse that procedure, up the Red Sea through the Suez Canal and into the Mediterranean.

So, it's a fairly normal course of events that oil is passing along this coast, and one of the things the Yemeni's have said is that it's a very difficult coast to patrol, there's an awful lot of very valuable oil passing just a few miles offshore -- Rudi.

BAKHTIAR: OK, thank you, Jim Bittermann, reporting from Paris.

We have Faris Al-Sanabani on the phone with us. He is calling us from San'a, Yemen, I understand. Mr. Al-Sanabani, can you hear me?

FARIS AL-SANABANI, REPORTER, "YEMEN OBSERVER": Yes, I can, go ahead.

BAKHTIAR: Can you please tell me what you're hearing in Yemen, about the explosion?

AL-SANABANI: The latest news that we are getting at the "Yemen Observer" is that the 24 out of the 25 French -- the crew -- the ship's crew members have been found and rescued. One -- they're still searching for one that is missing, and also all branches of the Yemeni security force are there to investigate into the incident of the Limburg, and they think it's too early, but later in the day the government should come with a statement to explain exactly what happened this morning.

BAKHTIAR: Were there any witnesses? What have you heard in terms of what people saw?

AL-SANABANI: What I heard is that earlier in the morning, the government received a radio from the ship saying that it is on fire, and there has been an explosion on the ship, and they sent a boat to rescue the people. There was no talks of any criminal or terrorist acts at that stage.

Later on in the day, the government is now looking into the possibility of a terrorist attack. There is nothing that has been defined. Earlier in the day, the government made a statement that it's not a terrorist act, but until now, we're still waiting to hear and see what will come out.

BAKHTIAR: Any idea on when they're going to be making a statement?

AL-SANABANI: Later on, later on that day, but as you understand, the Yemeni navy -- the Yemeni shore extends more than 2,010 kilometers offshore, and they have a very weak navy, so definitely they've called once and once again, asking for help in strengthening their navy and securing their shores, and that is why they're looking into the possibility of a terrorist attack or anything that would come out from that incident.

BAKHTIAR: All right, thank you, Faris Al-Sanabani, a reporter from the "Yemen Observer." Thank you for that report.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com