Amid the escalating tensions in West Asia, two Indian nationals have been killed in an attack on the oil tanker 'Skylight' in the Gulf of Oman. The two individuals have been identified as Captain Ashish Kumar from Bihar and crew member Dalip Singh from Rajasthan, reported NDTV.
The bones of Kumar and Singh were reportedly recovered; the bodies were burnt in the attack. Ashish’s bones were recovered from the captain’s cabin, reported NDTV, citing information provided by the government.
The Palau-flagged oil tanker, with 15 Indians and five Iranian seafarers on board, was struck off Oman’s Musandam Peninsula in an attack that followed drone strikes on the country’s Duqm port.
"The Maritime Security Centre announces that the oil tanker (SKYLIGHT), flying the flag of the Republic of (Palau), was targeted 5 nautical miles north of Khasab Port in the Musandam Governorate, and all crew members of the tanker, consisting of 20 individuals, including 15 holding Indian nationality and 5 of Iranian nationality--have been evacuated," Oman's Maritime Security Centre (MSC) said in a post that did not mention what struck the tanker.
Earlier in December 2025, Skylight was included on the US government sanctions list.
Mumbai Seafarer Dies After Missile Strike on Tanker in the Strait of Hormuz
A 33-year-old seafarer from Mumbai lost his life after a missile reportedly struck the product tanker MT MKD Vyom in the Strait of Hormuz on March 1, amid escalating attacks on merchant vessels in the region. The deceased has been identified as Dixit Amritlal Solanki, who was working as an oiler on board the vessel.
Solanki had joined the tanker on December 10, 2025, and had been serving on board for nearly 80 days at the time of the incident. The vessel had departed from Europe on February 8 and was sailing towards Ras Tanura in Saudi Arabia when it reportedly came under attack in the strategically sensitive Strait of Hormuz.
What is the Strait of Hormuz?
The Strait of Hormuz is the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf through which about a fifth of the world's oil passes. Tankers travelling through the strait, which is bordered in the north by Iran, carry oil and gas from Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Iraq, Qatar, Bahrain, the UAE and Iran. Most of that oil goes to Asia.
