Iran-Israel War: A bomb-carrying drone boat struck a Marshall Islands-flagged oil tanker in the Gulf of Oman on Monday, killing one mariner on board.
The state-run Oman News Agency reported the attack off the coast of Muscat, the capital of Oman. The vessel involved was identified as the MKD VYOM. The deceased crew member was reported to be from India.
Iran has been issuing threats against vessels approaching the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow gateway to the Persian Gulf, and is suspected of having launched several attacks as the conflict in the Middle East intensifies following Israel and the United States’ launch of a major airstrike campaign targeting the Islamic Republic.
According to Reuters, a report on Sunday stated that a projectile struck the MKD VYOM, resulting in the death of a crew member as the tanker was sailing off the coast of Oman. The vessel's management company, V.Ships, confirmed the incident. Initially, the nationality of the victim was not disclosed, but it has since been reported.
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"The vessel suffered an explosion and subsequent fire after being struck by a suspected projectile while off the coast of Muscat, Oman, on March 1," V.Ships Asia said in a statement on Sunday. "It is with great sadness that we confirm one crew member, who was in the engine room at the time of the incident, has died," the statement added.
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On Monday, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi addressed questions concerning Iranian strikes across Gulf countries, even as explosions were reported in Dubai, Doha, Manama, and the Omani port of Duqm for a second consecutive day.
In a similar incident, 15 Indian nationals were aboard a Palau-flagged oil tanker when it was struck off Oman’s Musandam peninsula, injuring four people, reports indicated. This occurred amid ongoing exchanges of strikes between Iran, the United States, and Israel, following an attack on Saturday that resulted in the death of Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.