Two killed in drone attack on tanker in Arabian Sea

Israeli company Zodiac Maritime has confirmed that two crewmembers were killed following an attack on one of its managed oil tankers in the Arabian Sea off Oman on Thursday, July 29.

The Liberian-flagged, Japanese-owned Mercer Street was sailing from Dar es Salaam in Tanzania to Fujairah in the UAE with no cargo on board when it was targeted by explosives-laden unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) on the evening (local time) of Thursday.

The attack killed one Romanian national and one UK national. Zodiac Maritime said no other personnel on board the tanker suffered any harm from the attack.

Despite the damage, Mercer Street was still able to sail under its own power at 14 knots and later proceeded to an undisclosed safe location with US Navy ships providing escort.

US Secretary of State Anthony J. Blinken said that, upon review of available information, State Department officials are “confident” that Iran was responsible for the attack.

Mr Blinken added that his department is working with foreign partners to consider next steps in addition to consulting with governments inside the region and beyond on an appropriate response to the incident.