Footage of a crude tanker off the coast of the Emirate of Sharjah, UAE, surfaced on Twitter about an hour ago.

Thick black smoke is seen billowing from the mid-section of a massive crude tanker moored off the coast.

The U.S. Navy's Fifth Fleet has just confirmed there's an incident off the coast of UAE'S SHARJAH but didn't describe what was happening.

The "incident" comes hours after Yemen's Houthi rebels launched a missile attack on a Saudi Aramco facility, but an official report has indicated missile defense systems intercepted the projectiles before they could hit their intended targets.

Tensions in the Middle East are surging again as crude plunges almost 20%, or just about the technical level of declaring a bear market, in 14 sessions as the coronavirus outbreak across China has traders more worried about a reduced demand outlook.