Indian seafarer killed after bulk carrier MV Cape Dao struck by torpedoes off Oman

An Indian seafarer was killed and 27 others rescued after the bulk carrier MV Cape Dao was struck, reportedly by two torpedoes, off the coast of Oman on Wednesday, The National reported.

Oman’s Maritime Security Centre said the attack caused a fire in the engine room and the death of one crew member. The Antigua and Barbuda-flagged vessel had 28 crew on board, and an Omani warship rescued 27 survivors from the incident about 4.6km off Musandam, the Omani exclave bordering the UAE.

The Indian Embassy in Muscat said it was “deeply saddened” that one Indian citizen had been killed, adding that 19 of the crew were Indian, in a post on X. India’s Ministry of External Affairs condemned the attack, saying that of 20 Indian seafarers aboard, 19 were rescued while one “tragically lost his life”, NDTV reported.

The Forward Seamen’s Union of India (FSUI) identified the dead seafarer as Suraj Yadav, a wiper from Deoria, Uttar Pradesh, The Hindu reported with PTI inputs. The union said two torpedoes hit the port-side C-deck crew accommodation and the port-side hull near the engine room. The embassy and union figures differ on the number of Indian crew aboard — 19 and 20 respectively.

Neither Iran nor the US has claimed responsibility for the strike, The National reported. The IMO says at least 23 sailors have been killed since the Iran war broke out in February, with merchant ships attacked by Iranian forces during a Strait of Hormuz blockade, by the US military during two blockades of Iranian ports ordered by President Trump, and ships on the Arabian Peninsula side coming under Houthi attack.

Sources

• The National, 23 September 2026 — Indian sailor killed as two torpedoes hit merchant ship off Oman
• The Hindu, 23 September 2026 — Indian national killed in MV Cape Dao attack: Indian embassy in Oman
• NDTV, 23 September 2026 — Indian seafarer killed after torpedoes strike ship off Oman coast