A drone boat carrying bombs struck a Marshall Islands-flagged oil tanker in the Gulf of Oman on Monday, killing a sailor on board, Oman said Monday.
It was not immediately clear who launched the attack amid US-Israeli strikes against Iran and the latter's retaliation against US bases in the Middle East and West Asia region.
The official Oman news agency reported the attack in the Gulf of Oman, off the coast of Muscat, the sultanate's capital. He identified the vessel as the MKD VYOM. He said the deceased crew member was from India, the AP news agency reported.
Here: Follow live updates on the conflict
The Reuters news agency announced on Sunday that a projectile had hit the tanker MKD VYOM. It killed a crew member on board as the ship sailed off the coast of Oman, its director V.Ships said on Sunday. The victim has not been identified and his nationality has now been reported.
“The vessel suffered an explosion and fire after being hit 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 that a member of the crew, who was in the engine room at the time of the incident, has died,” the statement added.
What Iran said about the Oman attacks
Iran threatens ships approaching the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf, and has reportedly launched multiple attacks as the war in the Middle East continues after Israel and the United States launched a campaign of major airstrikes targeting the Islamic Republic.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi responded to questions on Monday about Iranian strikes in Gulf countries, even as explosions were reported in Dubai, Doha, Manama and the Omani port of Duqm for the second day in a row.
Speaking to Al Jazeera, Aragchi specifically elaborated on the strike at Oman's Duqm port, which acts as a mediator between Iran and the United States and Israel. He said the attack was not the regime's choice, adding that the armed forces were now “acting independently” based on general instructions.
Indians on board another tanker hit
Also Sunday, 15 Indian nationals were on board a Palau-flagged oil tanker when it was hit off the Musandam Peninsula, Oman, injuring four people, according to reports. The incident occurred as Iran exchanged strikes with the United States and Israel, which launched an attack on Saturday that killed the Islamic Republic's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Oman's maritime safety center did not say what hit the ship. The attack followed earlier drone strikes elsewhere in the Gulf country, at the commercial port of Duqm on the Arabian Sea.
The incidents mark the first time targets in or near Oman have been hit following a wave of retaliatory strikes by Tehran against Gulf states after joint U.S.-Israeli attacks on Iran plunged the region into a new war.
The 20-person crew of the Skylight tanker was evacuated after the attack, which occurred about 5 nautical miles north of Khasab port in Musandam, in the strategic Strait of Hormuz, Oman's Maritime Security Center said in an article on X.
The crew consisted of 15 Indian citizens and 5 Iranian citizens, according to the OMSC. Initial reports reported injuries of varying severity among four crew members. Skylight's registered owner is Sea Force Inc and it is managed by Red Sea Ship Management LLC, according to official data.
The US Treasury Department sanctioned Red Sea Ship Management and Skylight, among other vessels, in December last year, accusing the management company and its owner of operating a “ghost fleet” to transport Iranian oil products in the Gulf.
Iran says tanker struck in Strait of Hormuz
Iranian state television said Sunday that an oil tanker was sinking after being struck while trying to pass through the strategic Strait of Hormuz. “The fate of the incriminated tanker that was struck while trying to illegally cross the Strait of Hormuz is that it is sinking,” state television reported, without elaborating.
It contained images showing thick black smoke emanating from the burning tanker at sea. The strait carries a quarter of the world's maritime oil and a fifth of all liquefied natural gas.
On Saturday, Iran's Revolutionary Guards warned that the vital waterway was unsafe due to US and Israeli attacks and was therefore closed to ships.
