Eastern Pacific Shipping-operated product tanker
Pacific Zircon
has been struck by a bomb-carrying drone off the coast of Oman.
The Singapore-based company said the vessel, carrying a cargo of gas oil, was hit by a projectile some 150 miles off Oman at about 15.30 hrs on Tuesday.
“We are in communication with the vessel and there are no reports of injuries or pollution,” The Idan Ofer-led shipping giant said, adding that all crew are safe and accounted for and that “there is some minor damage to the vessel’s hull but no spillage of cargo or water ingress.”
According to vessel tracker MarineTraffic the Liberian-flagged tanker departed from Sohar, Oman on Monday afternoon heading to the port of Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Although no one has claimed responsibility for the attack, Iran has been singled out for suspicion. Last year a product tanker Mercer Street, operated by Eyal Ofer’s Zodiac Maritime was attacked by drones off the coast of Oman in the Arabian Sea. An investigation led by the US Central Command showed that Iran was behind the operation which resulted in the deaths of two crewmembers.
