A deadly strike in the Gulf

One seafarer has been killed after an explosion believed to have been caused by a missile struck the Marshall Islands-flagged oil products tanker MT Velos Sapphire in the Gulf, the vessel's Greek manager said on Friday. Velos Tankers said the tanker was sailing empty towards Bahrain when an unidentified projectile hit its port quarter, sparking a fire that the crew put out. The seafarer was first reported missing after the blast and was later found fatally injured on board. No other crew members were hurt, and no pollution was reported. The ship has since reached Bahrain's Khalifa Bin Salman Port, where an investigation is expected and damage to the hull is still being assessed. The nationality of the seafarer who died has not been disclosed.

No attacker identified

No government or armed group has been confirmed as responsible for the attack, and the exact cause of the explosion has not been established. The vessel's manager described the blast as believed to have been caused by a missile, but that remains an assessment rather than a confirmed finding. Timing also differs between sources: the company placed the attack on Thursday, while the UK Maritime Trade Operations centre recorded the incident late on Wednesday in GMT terms, about 50 nautical miles north of Madinat ash Shamal in Qatar.

Shipping under pressure

The incident is the latest in a run of attacks on commercial shipping in and around the Gulf since the war between the United States and Israel and Iran began in February. UK maritime data recorded more than 35 incidents in the Strait of Hormuz in October, the highest monthly total since the war began, and at least five vessels have been attacked so far in November. Separately on Friday, Iran's Revolutionary Guards said two more tankers had caught fire in the strait after striking mines, a claim that has not been independently verified.

**Lead note:** the seafarer's death was mentioned in one sentence of last hour's published MQ-1 drone story (id 2270). This draft is a standalone report of the tanker attack itself, with full detail not in that post. Lead to decide whether it stands as its own story.