SHIPPING along the Omani coast and across the Arabian Sea has been disrupted by Cyclone Kyarr - the most powerful storm ever in the area, packing winds of 95 knots (109 miles per hour) gusting up to 120 knots (120.8 miles per hour) .
Before Kyarr, the strongest-ever storm in the Arabian Sea was Super Cyclone Gonu, which made landfall in Oman in June 2007, causing many deaths and billions of dollars of property damage, recalled American Shipper.
The system has has weakened into an extremely severe cyclone. The only difference between a hurricane, a cyclone and a typhoon is where they occur. In the Americas, on the Atlantic and Gulf coasts the term 'hurricane' is used. In the northern Pacific they are called 'typhoons', and 'cyclones' in the South Pacific and Indian Ocean.
It was been a near-miss for India and Oman (in the south east of the Arabian Peninsula) as a ferociously strong tropical storm, Cyclone Kyarr, was predicted to stay offshore.
Kyarr formed as a depression. It began to travel north east toward the Indian south west coast. But, a day or so after formation, it veered away before landfall and began travelling in a north-westerly direction.
During the weekend the storm strengthened so much, and so quickly, that the Indian Meteorological Department was forced to repeatedly upgrade the classification of the storm. First, it was upgraded to cyclone status, then to a 'severe' cyclone, then to a 'very severe' cyclone, then to an 'extremely severe cyclone' and finally, up to a 'super cyclone'.
The system slowly moved north west toward Oman and in the general direction of the Strait of Hormuz, a vital waterway for the transit of global oil supplies. According to the US Energy Information Administration, the daily flow of oil through Hormuz last year averaged 21 million barrels per day.
Although Kyarr has been moving toward Hormuz, both the Indian and Omani weather forecasters predicted that Kyarr would shortly curve away toward the south west and will not make contact with land on the Omani coast.
WORLD SHIPPING
Before Kyarr, the strongest-ever storm in the Arabian Sea was Super Cyclone Gonu, which made landfall in Oman in June 2007, causing many deaths and billions of dollars of property damage, recalled American Shipper.
The system has has weakened into an extremely severe cyclone. The only difference between a hurricane, a cyclone and a typhoon is where they occur. In the Americas, on the Atlantic and Gulf coasts the term 'hurricane' is used. In the northern Pacific they are called 'typhoons', and 'cyclones' in the South Pacific and Indian Ocean.
It was been a near-miss for India and Oman (in the south east of the Arabian Peninsula) as a ferociously strong tropical storm, Cyclone Kyarr, was predicted to stay offshore.
Kyarr formed as a depression. It began to travel north east toward the Indian south west coast. But, a day or so after formation, it veered away before landfall and began travelling in a north-westerly direction.
During the weekend the storm strengthened so much, and so quickly, that the Indian Meteorological Department was forced to repeatedly upgrade the classification of the storm. First, it was upgraded to cyclone status, then to a 'severe' cyclone, then to a 'very severe' cyclone, then to an 'extremely severe cyclone' and finally, up to a 'super cyclone'.
The system slowly moved north west toward Oman and in the general direction of the Strait of Hormuz, a vital waterway for the transit of global oil supplies. According to the US Energy Information Administration, the daily flow of oil through Hormuz last year averaged 21 million barrels per day.
Although Kyarr has been moving toward Hormuz, both the Indian and Omani weather forecasters predicted that Kyarr would shortly curve away toward the south west and will not make contact with land on the Omani coast.
WORLD SHIPPING