Suspected Drone Strike on Oil Tanker Leaves One Dead Off Dubai

A seafarer was killed in an incident involving the Gibraltar-flagged oil products tanker Hercules Star while at anchorage off Dubai, the vessel’s charterer Peninsula said on Wednesday.

"It is with deep sadness and regret that we confirm one fatality," Peninsula said in a statement without providing details on what caused the death.

"In addition, one member of the crew is missing and a specialist team is working to locate them. All other crew members are accounted for."

According to initial assessments from maritime security sources, the vessel may have been hit by drone.

British Navy-affiliated agency UKMTO said separately that it had received a report of a vessel listing 24 nautical miles off the United Arab Emirates' Port Rashid while at anchor, "possibly indicating water ingress following an attack from an unknown projectile".

The location was close to the Hercules Star, maritime security sources said, according to their assessments.

A tanker carrying about two million barrels of Iraqi fuel oil was struck by a drone in Iraqi territorial waters on Wednesday, port officials said.

(Reporting by Jonathan Saul; Editing by Andrew Heavens)