Oman says oil tanker targeted off coast; 15 Indians among 20 crew, four injured
MUSCAT: An Oman port and an oil tanker off its coast were attacked on Sunday, official media said, marking the first strikes on the sultanate — which mediated US-Iran talks –Media reports say that oil tanker was targeted off the coast of an exclave in the UAE, with its crew evacuated and four of them injured, as Iran carried out retaliatory Gulf strikes.
“The Maritime Security Centre announced that the oil tanker (SKYLIGHT), flying the flag of the Republic of Palau, was targeted 5 nautical miles north of the port of Khasab in the governorate of Musandam,” the Oman News Agency said on X.
“All crew members of the tanker, consisting of 20 people, including 15 Indians and 5 Iranians, were evacuated. Initial information indicates that four members of the ship’s crew sustained varying injuries,” it added.A security source reported that the commercial port of Duqm was targeted by two drones,” the Oman News Agency said in a social media post.
“One drone struck a mobile workers’ accommodation, injuring one foreign worker, while debris from the other landed near fuel tanks, causing no casualties or material damage,” it added.
Shortly after, Oman said the oil tanker was targeted off the coast. Its crew was evacuated and four of them were injured, the news agency The UAE’s presidential adviser Anwar Gargash lashed out at Tehran, calling the attacks on the Gulf states a miscalculation. “It isolated Iran at a critical juncture. Your war is not with your neighbours,” said Gargash.
“Return to reason, to your surroundings, and deal with your neighbours rationally and responsibly before the circle of isolation and escalation widens,” Gargash added.
Earlier Sunday, AFP reporters heard blasts in Dubai, the Bahraini capital Manama and in Qatar, where thick black smoke was seen rising on the clear morning horizon in the south of Doha.And in the UAE capital Abu Dhabi, a woman and child were injured after debris from an intercepted drone collided with a building facade at Etihad Towers, according to the Abu Dhabi Media Office.
An AFP correspondent also saw thick black smoke rising from Dubai’s southern Jebel Ali Port on Sunday morning, after authorities said debris from an interceptor had sparked a fire overnight.
Early Sunday, drones also struck the airport in Bahrain’s capital Manama, causing minor damage, authorities said.