Israel blames Iran for attack on tanker near Oman

Two crew members of a tanker that came under attack in still unclear circumstances in the Arabian Sea near Oman have died as a result, the operating company, Zodiac Maritime, owned by an Israeli billionaire, said on Friday.

"It is with great regret that we understand that the incident on board the 'Mercer Street' on 29 July 2021 has resulted in the deaths of two crew members on board: a Romanian national and a British national," the company said in a statement.

Shortly afterwards, it announced in another note that the vessel, which was travelling without cargo, was already "sailing under control of its crew and under its own power at 14 knots to a safe location with a US naval escort".

However, it is still unclear whether the attack, which took place on Thursday night, is a piracy action, as the operator initially suspected, or otherwise, with maritime security firm Dryad Global indicating that it may have been carried out with a drone and be similar to previous attacks carried out by Iran.

If confirmed, this would be the first time such an action has resulted in fatalities.

Zodiac said in a recent statement that it was not aware of any other crew members being injured in the incident and that the details of the incident "are still being established and an investigation is currently underway".

However, Dryad Global said that, according to the British Navy's UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO), which provides information for international trade, the Liberian-flagged "Mercer Street" may have suffered two attacks on Thursday.

The first, it said, took place on Thursday morning and "was related to the sighting of a drone from which it is understood that 'flashes went off'," referring to the possible launching of projectiles, which were seen falling into the water.

The second, the nature of which "remains unclear", caused "an explosion on board the boat" in which the two victims are said to have died.

According to the security company, this attack "bears considerable similarities to the simmering conflict between Israel and Iran", which, it said, has resulted in four confirmed attacks on Israel-related vessels, two with Iranian connections, since February, all of them without fatalities.

The "Mercer Street", according to Zodiac, is Japanese-owned and at the time of the incident was in the northern Indian Ocean, "travelling from Dar es Salaam to Fujairah (United Arab Emirates) with no cargo on board".

Dryad Global said the ship was Liberian-flagged and had a crew of 27 people of various nationalities, including Romanian, Russian, Chinese, Ukrainian, Filipino, Georgian and Indian. 

Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid has blamed Iran for the attack on a tanker in the Arabian Sea, in which two crew members were killed.

"Iran is not just an Israeli problem, but an exporter of terrorism, destruction and instability that is harming us all. We must never be silent in the face of Iranian terrorism, which also harms freedom of navigation," Lapid said on his Twitter account last night.

Lapid said he had been in contact with British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab, to whom he told him of "the need to respond severely to the attack on the ship", in which one British and one Romanian national were killed.

The ship, named Mercer Street and owned by Japan, is operated by Israeli billionaire Eyal Ofer's company Zodiac Maritime.

When it was attacked on Thursday night, it was in the northern Indian Ocean, "travelling from Dar es Salaam to Fujairah (United Arab Emirates) with no cargo on board," Zodiac said in a statement.

Israeli media reported that senior defence officials met last night to discuss the incident and quoted unnamed security sources as anticipating a response.

While the nature of the incident remains unclear, if confirmed as an Iranian attack it would represent a new chapter in hostilities between Israel and Tehran in the area, with multiple attacks and sabotage against cargo ships recorded over the past two years, and which have intensified in recent months.

This, however, would be the first time such an attack has caused fatalities, which could heighten tensions.