An Indian crew member was killed after an oil tanker was struck by an unmanned drone boat off the coast of Oman, triggering a fire and forcing the evacuation of all crew on board, officials confirmed on Monday, as hostilities between Israel and Iran continued to escalate across the region.
The Sultanate of Oman’s Maritime Security Centre said the incident occurred about 52 nautical miles northwest of Port Sultan Qaboos in Muscat Governorate on Saturday (March 1). The tanker, identified as MKD VYOM, flying the flag of the Republic of the Marshall Islands, was carrying approximately 59,463 metric tonnes of cargo at the time of the attack.
According to officials, the unmanned vessel hit the tanker, causing a fire and explosion in the main engine room. One crew member, an Indian national, died in the incident.
The vessel had 21 crew members on board, including 16 Indians, four Bangladeshis and one Ukrainian. All survivors were evacuated by the merchant ship MV SAND, which sails under the flag of Panama, in coordination with the Maritime Security Centre.
The Royal Navy of Oman has deployed a vessel to monitor the damaged tanker and is issuing navigational warnings to ships transiting the area. Authorities have not yet disclosed who was behind the attack.
Iran has warned vessels approaching the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow gateway to the Persian Gulf, and is suspected of launching multiple maritime attacks as the Middle East war intensified following major US and Israeli airstrikes on the Islamic Republic.
This marked the second such attack on cargo vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz since the assassination of Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, which has triggered widespread tensions across the Middle East.
Earlier, a Palau-flagged oil tanker Skylight, carrying 15 Indian nationals among its crew, was struck near Oman’s Musandam peninsula, injuring four people.
Oman’s Maritime Security Centre said in a post on X that the strike took place about five nautical miles north of Musandam’s Khasab Port, after which the tanker’s 20-member crew was evacuated. The agency did not specify the weapon used. https://www.indiatoday.in/world/story/indian-crew-member-killed-after-drone-boat-hits-oil-tanker-off-oman-coast-2876550-2026-03-02
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