Dubai, March 2: An Indian national was killed on Monday when an explosive-laden unmanned boat struck an oil tanker off the coast of Muscat Governorate, according to reports.
“The Maritime Security Centre reported that the oil tanker MKD VYOM was attacked by an unmanned boat 52 nautical miles off the coast of Muscat Governorate,” Oman’s Ministry of Defence said in a statement.
It said that the attack resulted in a fire and explosion in the engine room and the death of one crew member. The remaining 21 crew members were evacuated.
The ministry did not identify the nationality of the deceased, but local media reported that the victim was an Indian crew member of the tanker.
“The attack triggered a fire and explosion within the main engine room, resulting in the fatality of one crew member of Indian nationality,” state-run Oman News Agency reported.
In coordination with the Maritime Security Centre, the tanker’s complement of 21 crew members — 16 Indian nationals, four Bangladeshi nationals, and one Ukrainian national — was evacuated via the commercial vessel MV SAND, which flies the flag of the Republic of Panama, it said.
A vessel from the Royal Navy of Oman is monitoring the condition of the stricken tanker and issuing the necessary navigational warnings to vessels transiting the same maritime zone, it added.
The tanker, flagged to the Republic of the Marshall Islands, was carrying an estimated 59,463 metric tons of cargo.
A day earlier, another oil tanker came under attack in the Strait of Hormuz. The attack on the MV Skylight injured four crew members.
The state-run Oman News Agency said the crew were from India and Iran.
On Monday, the Indian mission in Oman said it was in constant touch with local authorities who are carrying out search operations for missing crew members following the incident involving MV Skylight.
It is learnt that out of the two missing crew members, one is an Indian national.
“We are also coordinating with officials in Oman for the repatriation of the crew members who have been rescued from MV Skylight and will continue to render all possible assistance in the matter,” the Embassy of India in Oman said in a post on X.
The Strait of Hormuz is located between Oman and Iran and connects the Persian Gulf with the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea. It is one of the world’s most important oil chokepoints. (PTI)
