Frontline has said it is yet to know the cause of the explosion and fire that engulfed its tanker Front Altair this morning in the Gulf of Oman.

Frontline Management chief executive Robert Hvide Macleod told TradeWinds the company was helping authorities control the situation which has been called an attack.

"We don’t know the reason for the explosion and [we] work to clarify through thorough investigations,” he said

“We are now co-operating with authorities and salvage experts to handle the situation in the best possible way," he added.