A 'kamikaze drone' is a 'loitering munition' in US English apparently.

. So what’s a mine called? They can loiter for years!

Article on the BBC News website.
Tanker attack: Tensions rise as Iran and Israel trade accusations

Given all the proxies fighting in this area, I'm surprised the Chinese have not yet been blamed.
It does seem rather obvious that there is a desire to choke off the Iran/China oil trade, this 'incident' seems tailor made to make that politically passable.
I'd consequently expect China to start using Chinese flagged ships next, despite the economic hit, because they really need reliable supply.
I do not think Israel would want to get into China's bad books.

How do you get a mine into the crew’s quarters or the bridge?
https://japantoday.com/category/worl...-that-killed-2
Quote:

The drone attack blasted a hole through the top of the oil tanker’s bridge, where the captain and crew command the vessel, a U.S. official said. The official spoke on condition of anonymity as an investigation into the attack still was ongoing.

Things are escalating….

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/...iracy-incident

Iranian-backed forces suspected of tanker hijacking off UAE coast

Iranian-backed forces are suspected of being behind the seizure of a tanker off the coast of the United Arab Emirates, after Britain’s maritime trade agency reported a “potential hijack” in the area on Tuesday by eight to nine armed individuals.

Maritime security sources identified the vessel as the Panama-flagged asphalt tanker that was reportedly intercepted in an area in the Arabian Sea leading to the strait of Hormuz, through which about a fifth of the world’s seaborne oil exports flow.

Maritime security analysts at Dryad Global and Aurora Intelligence later named the endangered ship as the Asphalt Princess travelling to Sohar, a port on Oman’s northern coast.In a statement, the UK Foreign Office said it was “urgently investigating an incident on a vessel off the UAE coast”. A spokesperson for the US state department said it was “too early to offer a judgment” on the incident.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards denied that the country’s forces or allies were involved, saying the incident was a pretext for “hostile action” against Tehran, Iranian state television said on its website.

“According to information from security sources, Iran’s armed forces and all branches of the Islamic Resistance in the Middle East have nothing to do with the incident in the Gulf of Oman,” the Guards said in a statement carried by the website.

The statement said the incident was an attempt by western countries and Israel “to prepare the public opinion of the international community for hostile action against the honourable nation of Iran.”…..

First intimations of an incident emerged on Tuesday afternoon when a warning notice was issued by the British military’s United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO),which notified ships that “an incident is currently under way” – later upgraded to a “potential hijacking”.

An Oman Royal Air Force Airbus C-295MPA, a maritime patrol aircraft, was flying over the area, according to data from Flightradar24.com.

The initial warning emerged amid contradictory claims in different local media that up to four ships had reported issues. Four oil tankers announced around the same time via their automatic identification system trackers that they were “not under command”, according to MarineTraffic.com.

It was not clear, however, of the significance of those alerts or even if they were related, with one of the ships later moving again.

The US military’s Middle East-based Fifth Fleet and the British defence ministry did not immediately return calls for comment. The Emirati government did not immediately acknowledge the incident.…..

Sorry to disappoint the PPRuNe warmongers (actually, I'm not at all):

For full story, see https://news.sky.com/story/potential...-over-12372173

Not sure the hijckers either leaving, or being driven off, ends the overall situation - or the possibility of relation. Ship was turned to head towards Iran before the incident was closed, by whatever means…..

I await with interest any reports which come out as to what happened last night in the Straits of Hormuz…

https://www.euronews.com/2021/08/04/...ish-navy-group

“Late on Tuesday, as the incident was underway, six oil tankers off the coast of Fujairah had announced around the same time via their Automatic Identification System trackers that they were “not under command,” according to MarineTraffic.com. That typically means a vessel has lost power and can no longer steer.”…..

It's not particularly rare for vessels to display N.U.C both visual and by A.I.S. when awaiting voyage orders or load/discharge dates. They shouldn't as technically they are not NUC. Perhaps that's the reason for some of them.

https://www.timesofisrael.com/crew-o...aging-engines/

Crew of tanker off UAE coast said to thwart Iran hijacking by sabotaging engines

The crew of a Panama-flagged asphalt tanker off the coast of Oman reportedly managed to thwart an attempt by Iranian gunmen to take control of their ship and divert it to the Islamic Republic.

Roughly half a dozen Iranian operatives stormed the Asphalt Princess, but the crew onboard quickly sprung to action and sabotaged the ship’s engines so that it could not move any further, UK officials told British daily The Times on Wednesday.

The gunmen fled the ship once US and Omani warships arrived at the scene, The Times said, adding that none of the crew were injured in the hijacking attempt…..

Good to see this has now been publicised so that the next set of hijackers will know to threaten, or worse, the crew to reverse their sabotage. :rolleyes:

Seems it would be pretty hard for Iran to deny any culpability if they had successfully diverted it to Iran...