The Japanese owned oil tanker M Star was damaged by what was reported as an explosion in the Straits of Hormuz. The cause of the damage is unknown. There has been speculation that included a rouge wave caused by a small earth quake, a mine left over from the war between Iran and Iraq in the 80s, a terrorist attack, a collision with a submarine, or even a meteor strike. More here.

The things that appear to be clues to me are:

–We can’t see below the waterline, but the depression in the hull seems to start at the waterline and go up. This indicates to me it was not a mine or the deepest impression would be at the waterline or below. For the same reason, I don’t think it could have been collision with a submarine.

–There also seems to be a contact scrape and additional depression on the aft side of the main depression. This might be from a fragment of shrapnel blown onto the side of the ship by an explosion, or it might have been an collision.

If there was an explosion, it appears that it was above water and relatively close to the ship because of the limited radius of the impression on the hull. If it had been a terrorist attack, I would have thought that we would have had a claim by now.

Other thoughts?