ALBAWABA- Oman’s Maritime Security Center reported that the Marshall Islands-flagged product tanker MKD Fium was struck by a drone boat in the Gulf of Oman, about 50 nautical miles north of Muscat, marking the second attack on commercial shipping in the area within 24 hours.
According to Omani authorities, the blast damaged the vessel’s engine room and sparked a fire that the crew later rekindled. No fatalities were reported, while the extent of injuries and structural damage remains under assessment.
The tanker had departed from a European port and was en route to Ras Tanura, Saudi Arabia, sailing outside the Strait of Hormuz but within a high-risk corridor used by vessels approaching the strategic waterway.
The incident follows a similar attack on March 1, when the Palau-flagged crude carrier Skylight was hit near Khasab Port in Musandam, injuring four crew members and forcing the evacuation of all 20 personnel on board. Both vessels were operating near the Strait of Hormuz, a vital artery for global energy markets through which roughly 20% of the world’s seaborne oil passes.
The attacks come amid Iran’s intensified retaliatory “Operation True Promise 4,” launched in retaliation for the February 28 joint U.S.–Israeli airstrikes that killed Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and dozens of senior officials. Tehran has declared the Strait of Hormuz closed to international navigation and warned that vessels linked to what it calls “aggressor states” could be targeted.
As a result of the U.S.-Israeli assaults on Iran, the use of drone boats and missiles against commercial shipping signals an effort to disrupt maritime traffic, pressure Gulf states, and drive up global energy prices without engaging in full-scale naval confrontation.
Major shipping companies have started rerouting vessels around the Cape of Good Hope, extending transit times and increasing insurance and freight costs.
