Official says oil tanker hit by bomb-carrying drone off Oman

An oil tanker associated with an Israeli billionaire has been struck by a bomb-carrying drone off the coast of Oman amid heightened tensions with Iran, an official told said on Wednesday.

The attack happened Tuesday night off the coast of Oman, the Mideast-based defence official the Associated Press. The official spoke on condition of anonymity as they did not have authorisation to discuss the attack publicly.

The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations, a British military organization in the region monitoring shipping, told the AP: "We are aware of an incident and it's being investigated at this time."


The official identified the vessel attacked as the Liberian-flagged oil tanker Pacific Zircon. That tanker is operated by Singapore-based Eastern Pacific Shipping, which is a company ultimately owned by Israeli billionaire Idan Ofer.

A phone number for Eastern Pacific rang unanswered Wednesday.