Oil tanker hit by bomb-carrying drone off Oman - AP

Quantum Commodity Intelligence - An oil tanker has been struck by a bomb-carrying drone off the coast of Oman amid heightened tensions with Iran, an official told The Associated Press Wednesday.

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

Oil prices initially spiked up on the news before easing back.

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.

While no one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, suspicion immediately fell on Iran.

In July 2021, an attack on an oil tanker linked to the same vessel operator killed two crew members off Oman in the Arabian Sea. Iran was widely believed to have been behind the attack.