Ships operating in the Middle East Gulf have been put on high alert following the suspected drone attack on a Zodiac Maritime-controlled tanker which killed two crew.
The 49,992-dwt Mercer Street (built 2013) was attacked on 30 July off the coast of Oman. The attack is suspected to have been made by an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), with the Israeli, US and UK governments pointing the finger at Iran.
One UK seafarer and a Romanian seafarer died in the incident.
There has been a series of attacks on Iran and Israeli-related shipping over recent months. The Mercer Street is operated by Zodiac Maritime which is controlled by Israeli businessman Eyal Ofer.
The Financial Times quoted an unnamed US official who said the attack had all the “tell- tale signs” of a drone attack.
“The vessel appears to have been attacked by a one-way UAV explosive drone,” the US official said. "That’s basically a UAV that is loaded up with explosives and flown into a target and it explodes on contact."
According to the report, there had been a failed attempt by a drone to damage the tanker hours before the final drone hit the vessel, causing a fatal explosion.
The Maritime Security Centre Horn of Africa has put out a warning note urging shipping in the Middle East Gulf to operate with "extreme caution".
The vessel is owned by Japan’s Taiheiyo Kaiun under a long-term charter agreement with Zodiac Maritime. Taiheiyo has a further eight ships on charter to Ofer-related companies.
Japan’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT) has contacted the Japan Shipowners' Association (JSA) and urged its members to exercise caution when trading in the region.
The MLIT is coordinating with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Defence Agency to update security information to the industry.
War risk
War-risk insurers said such an incident had already been priced into existing rates. However, it appears the attack happened just outside the Indian Ocean and Arabian Gulf high-risk area, where ships have to pay additional premium.
Since the start of this year, there have been two attacks on vessels related to Iran, and two on vessels with links to Israel, amid heightened political tensions in the region.
Most recently on 3 July, Israeli officials blamed Iran after a fire broke out on the 8,704-teu CSAV Tyndall (built 2014) as the containership travelled across the Indian Ocean.
Security firm Dryad Global said the attack on the Mercer Street is “almost certainly another attack in line with the current trend of maritime tit-for-tat attacks between Israel and Iran”.
It added that ships with connections to Israel and Iran need to operate with caution.
“Currently, the risk profile to commercial vessels transiting the Persian Gulf, Gulf of Oman, Gulf of Arabia, the Red Sea remains one in which any vessel associated with Israel and Iran remain at heightened risk as a result of the current trend of activity,” the company said.
After the attack, the Mercer Street was escorted by the aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan and the guided missile destroyer USS Mitscher.
The Mercer Street arrived off Fujairah in the United Arab Emirates on Sunday.
