Two crewmen, a British and a Romanian, killed in attack on tanker off Oman

DUBAI: An attack on the Mercer Street petroleum products tanker in the Arabian Sea, off the Omani coast, has caused the deaths of two crew members, a British and a Romanian, the Israel-owned company managing the vessel, Zodiac Maritime, said in a statement on Friday (Jul 30).

The tanker came under attack on Thursday in what the company described as suspected piracy.

But the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO), which provides maritime security information, said earlier it was not piracy.

Britain's military said on Friday it was investigating reports that an oil tanker managed by an Israeli billionaire's company had been attacked in the Arabian Sea.

"We are aware of reports of an attack on a merchant vessel off the coast of Oman," the Ministry of Defence in London said in a short statement.

"UK military headquarters in the region are currently conducting investigations."

London-based Zodiac said on its website that the Mercer Street, a Japanese-owned ship, was attacked. Zodiac is owned by Israel's Ofer family, according to the website.

Zodiac Maritime is part of the Zodiac Group, owned by Israeli businessman Eyal Ofer, whose enterprises span shipping, real estate, technology, banking and investments.

Ofer was ranked the world's 197th richest person by Forbes this year, with a fortune of US$11.3 billion. His firms own and operate over 160 ships.

The UKMTO - an anti-piracy taskforce run by the Royal Navy - said the vessel was about 280km northeast of the Omani port of Duqm when it was attacked. 

According to Eikon's ship tracking, the Mercer Street, a medium-size tanker, was headed to Fujairah, a bunkering port and oil terminal in the United Arab Emirates, from Dar es Salaam, in Tanzania.

Iran and Israel have traded accusations over the past months of attacking each other's vessels.

The Arabian Sea and surrounding Indian Ocean were plagued by piracy around a decade ago, but incidents have waned in recent years after foreign navies stepped up patrols.