Panama-flagged Tanker Catches Fire Near Iranian Coast

A Panama-flagged tanker called White Pearl has caught fire near Assaluyeh on Iran's Gulf coast, Iranian state media reported on Thursday, adding that all crew members were safe.

"Twenty-two of the ship's crew have been rescued by Iranian rescue teams after the ship's captain requested assistance from the port authorities," state TV quoted a local ports official as saying. 

The official said that the tanker, carrying 40,000 tons of liquefied petroleum gas, had experienced "a problem in the engine room due to a fire."

Panama's vessel registry, the world's largest, has withdrawn its flag from 136 ships linked to Iran's state oil company in the last four years, the country's maritime authority said in January. 

(Reuters - Reporting by Elwely Elwelly; Writing by Parisa Hafezi, Editing by Hugh Lawson and Conor Humphries)