An exploding drone killed two crew members aboard a merchant tanker off the coast of Oman, U.S. 5th Fleet said in a late Friday statement.
The two were crew members aboard the Liberian-flagged tanker Mercer Street when the ship was hit with at least one explosive-laden unmanned aerial vehicle late Thursday, according to the statement.
U.S. forces responded to the distress call from Mercer Street and “upon arrival, U.S. forces determined through clear visual evidence that an attack had occurred,” reads the statement.
“Initial indications clearly point to a UAV-style attack.”
Of those killed, one crewmember was from Romania and the other was British, London-based Zodiac Maritime, the company that manages the Japanese-owned tanker, said in a statement on Twitter. Zodiac is owned by Israeli business magnate Eyal Ofer’s Zodiac Group, reported The Associated Press.
