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2 killed in attack on Israel owned ship near Oman

July 30, 2021 at 4:00 pm

An oil tanker, 19 July 2019 [US Navy / Wikipedia]

Two crew members were killed when an Israeli-managed petroleum products tanker came under attack off Oman’s coast yesterday, the company said today

Zodiac Maritime, part of Israeli billionaire Eyal Ofer’s Zodiac Group, issued a statement saying the ship was the Liberian-flagged oil tanker Mercer Street and was Japanese owned.

https://twitter.com/Zodiac_Maritime/status/1421007329789628418

“At the time of the incident the vessel was in the northern Indian Ocean, travelling from Dar es Salaam to Fujairah with no cargo onboard,” it said in a tweet.

The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations said an investigation was underway into the incident, which it described as taking place late on the northeast of the Omani island of Masirah.

The crew members who were killed are said to be British and Romanian citizens.

Zodiac said the ship was now sailing under the control of its crew and own power to a safe location with a US naval escort.

Yemen: Abandoned tanker sinks causing oil spill in Gulf of Aden

Zodiac said the ship was now sailing under the control of its crew and own power to a safe location with a US naval escort.

This is not the first time an Israeli cargo ship has come under fire in the Gulf region. In March, a vessel owned by an Israeli company was damaged by an Iranian missile in the Arabian Sea.

One month after the Israeli owned MV HELIOS RAY was hit by an explosion in the Gulf of Oman. Then Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu blamed Iran for the attack.