Oil Tanker Attacks In The Gulf Of Oman & What It Means For The Preparedness Community
When Matt and I woke up this morning and sat down to drink our coffee, he was quickly telling me of the concerning situation that developed in the early hours in the Gulf of Oman near the United Arab Emirates.
Earlier today the Japanese shipping
company Kokuka Sangyo reported the Kokuka Courageous had been
attacked. The vessel was carrying 25,000 tons of methanol.
Iranian officials have reported that
they rescued 44 sailors from the tankers earlier today.
The Norwegian tanker, Front Altair, is rumored to have been hit by a torpedo according to Tradewinds, a main shipping newspaper. The tanker was carry Naptha which is a main component in gasoline production.
The tankers were near the Strait of Hormuz which is a shipping lane responsible for 19 billion barrels of oil per year.
Oil prices quickly went up 4% and we have yet to see how far they will go.
I am going to include a few links here to various news outlets
that are covering the story. I have no allegiance to any particular
one. I think you are smart enough to decide what you read and watch.
This article is going to focus on what people can do to prepare
for whatever the situation in the gulf may eventually lead to. I have
no desire to get caught up discussing in depth the politics that is
involved with the unfolding crisis.
This situation is developing and at
such an early stage it is hard to know exactly how this is going to
play out. The groundwork has been laid for this to develop into
something much larger. Hopefully cooler heads will prevail and this
does not lead to full out war.
As a prepared person you should keep up
with the story and if the situation escalates then you need to
consider your next move.
Here are a few things that could happen if the situation continues to unfold. Please note that this is all theoretical. There are factors and players in all of this that are far beyond anything the average person could know. I think this incident is going to develop over time and it will be a while before we know the full extent of what happened and we may never know the full truth.
We have been enjoying some pretty low gas prices but I do not
think that will last with the tensions in the Middle East escalating.
What you can do to minimize this effect:
I know that some people really frown on folks for putting back extra fuel during a crisis or topping off their tanks. My opinion is that it is best to put back fuel before a crisis but if you see events unfolding, there is nothing wrong with filling up a few 5-gallon cans so you can keep things going for a while. What is reckless is driving around looking for gas and wasting a lot of it in the process. Going out loafing and socializing when you could stay at home and make it easier on yourself and others that need gas for work is pretty thoughtless too.
The cost of shipping goods is always a problem in the United States. I have wrote several investigative pieces over at The Organic Prepper on the challenges facing the shipping industry and the picture is not pretty even without high gas prices. Remember that high gas prices played a big role in the trucker strikes of the 1970s that led to supply disruptions and violence.
Stores like Wal-Mart do not have a ton of large warehouses. They depend on trucks to be rolling all the time to stock their stores. When this is disrupted, you start to see low stock and empty shelves.
Online retailers where shipping is
included or you pay a set fee for special shipping privileges, will
feel the pain of increased costs but it will take a little longer for
you to feel these effects because online retailers do not want to
risk losing steady customers and as I said before, the big ones get
special rates that help insulate them from increases.
Even the big online retailers will be forced to increase
prices if the situation develops from temporary to being the new
reality we live in.
What you can do to minimize this
effect:
A lot of you have
been following the devastating floods that have occurred in the
midwest. A lot of fields simply are not going to get planted this
year. The USA lost millions of cattle and other livestock due to
flooding. When this is combined with an oil crisis or war, the effect
on food prices could be overwhelming to a nation where so many are
already struggling to make ends meet every month.
What you can do to minimize this
effect:
Tensions are already high in this country. We are more divided
than ever. I believe it is a very intentional thing. A divided
country does not handle crisis well. If another war breaks out the
tension level will skyrocket and various groups will be quick to put
blame on each other. This means you need to take steps to avoid
trouble and conflict. Like so many things, there will be a lot of
shouting, fussing, and general unpleasantness that doesn’t really
accomplish much in the long term.
I am going to discuss a few ways to deal with tension. My goal
is that you and your loved ones stay safe and do not become victims
of circumstances beyond your control. Being in the wrong place at the
wrong time is all it takes regardless of how you feel about an issue.
Protests and rallies are inevitable if a war starts up.
People seem to be very riled up at the moment. I don’t even write
about politics directly but since I write about preparedness I am put
into a certain category by some. I have lost relationships with
friends and family over what I write at Backdoor Survival. I can only
imagine what others are going through that write or even voice the
slightest opinion on more controversial things. In such volatile
times it stands to reason that something slight could provoke an
extreme reaction. We live in a time where extreme reactions are the
normal course of events rather than a rarity.
Here are a few things you can do to stay safe:
After hundreds of years of the men in my family being in the military, at the moment I can think of no relation that is an active member but I can say this: I THINK ABOUT THE VIETNAM WAR EVERY DAY OF MY LIFE. I just realized the other day that for years there has not been a day go by that I have not thought about it that I can remember.
It has and always will be a part of my life because of my father and the health effects we have both experienced. The tragedy of war runs deep and it breaks my heart to think of the pain and suffering those in the armed forces and their families will have to endure if war is declared.
I don’t have all the answers, that is for sure. I can’t stop thinking about a war that happened more than 50 years ago but I get by day to day. Here are a few things I can think of that may help those with loved ones and friends in the armed forces. Perhaps some of you that are active duty or that are the family of active duty personnel could add to this in the comments section?
Since I want to cover all aspects of what could unfold when war
seems to be a possibility, I cannot help but mention the nuclear
threat. I am always fearful that some hot headed leader is going to
push the button and unleash a nuclear bomb.
Even a small nuclear bomb could ignite a war of astronomical proportions. There has been a lot written on how to survive a nuclear event. As someone that lives within range of a facility that dismantles nuclear devices and another facility that produces nuclear power, I have other reasons to be concerned besides the potential of a nuclear war of any level.
I will admit that I definitely have radiation tablets put aside for all members of my household. They are inexpensive and I hope we never need them but with so much nuclear power around us and the state of the world’s affairs, I see them as cheap insurance.
Maybe I am just more paranoid than the average person due to my background but I like to prepare for the worst and hope for the best. It is something I cannot help but do because of my ingrained distrust and fear of what officials may do.
From The Trail of Tears to the coal mines and on to Vietnam, the Appalachian mountain folk in my family have learned that it doesn’t pay to have faith in those in major positions of power. You are have to find your own way to survive and thrive despite them.
What is your philosophy on this? How do you handle deciding how far to take your level of preparedness?
Samantha Biggers can be reached at samantha@backdoorsurvival.com
Updated Jul 5, 2019
Published Jun 13, 2019
Samantha Biggers can be reached at [email protected]
I saw this at odarkthirty at the gym and immediately sent a message out to the group to fill tanks and cans.
Gas cans can get used for lawn mowing this time of year and get left empty.
These are the triggers we must watch for. Not panic over but watch for and act accordingly.
Filled gas cans up this morning and added stabilizer. Where are the nuclear facilities of any type that are in the large circle of Maggie Valley, Cherokee, etc?
PRI-G stabilizer?
We are downwind of Oak Ridge, TN. It is a decent distance but still concerning. Haywood County, NC is less than 40 miles from the Oconee nuclear reactor. We are about 35 miles from Oconee. Considering Oconee is supposed to be a dangerous reactor for a variety of reasons. Our nuclear facilities are terribly outdated and beyond the lifespan they were intended for. Oconee was designed to last 40 years and it is now at the 45 year mark. Scary stuff. I could go on and on with specifics. Thanks for reading, Samantha
Thank you and your husband. Be safe.
So I prep for storm ( I week) .now what ? You never know when a gov. Off. Will rest his elbow on a red button.
Thank you for this. We are a military family overseas watching, staying vigilant and trying to be prepared as well.
Very good advice above. I am a moderate prepper because I was raised by parents and grandparents that always stayed moderately prepared for any possible future hard days. The best thing I do is live on Isaiah 41:10 to keep everything in perspective and not worry my head off.
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