A HEREFORD company says it's with "enormous sadness" that it confirmed the name of its worker, a British Army veteran, killed in a ship drone attack.
The British national killed in a drone attack on a tanker off the coast of Oman was named as British Army veteran Adrian Underwood, who worked for Rotherwas-based security firm Ambrey.
The drone attack off the coast of Oman on July 29 targeted the Mercer Street tanker, killing the Briton and a Romanian, and led to international condemnation of Iran after the UK, US and Israel pinned the blame on Tehran.
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Late on Wednesday evening, security company Ambrey named the Briton as Mr Underwood, while the Metropolitan Police said its Counter Terrorism Command is working to support the UK Coroner’s Office to establish the circumstances of the death of the UK national.
Ambrey’s managing director John Thompson said: “Although the formal identification process is still under way, it is with enormous sadness that we announce that the British national killed in the security incident onboard the M/T Mercer Street vessel was Adrian Underwood.
“Adrian was a former soldier in the British Army with a distinguished record of service. He came to work for Ambrey in 2020 and his qualities were quickly recognised as he was rapidly promoted from maritime security officer to team leader.
“We continue to be in contact with Adrian’s family to offer support at this sad and difficult time and we request their privacy is respected. I know that Adrian will be much missed by everyone he worked with.”
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The Met said: “The Metropolitan Police’s Counter Terrorism Command are working in support of the UK Coroner’s Office to establish the circumstances of the death of the UK national.
“The officers will gather evidence to support the coroner in establishing who the deceased was and where, when and how the death occurred.”
The drone attack incident was followed on Tuesday by a suspected hijacking of a vessel off the coast of the United Arab Emirates in the Gulf of Oman.
Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab told the Daily Telegraph the UK would be “calm and composed, but we’re absolutely resolute and robust in terms of dealing with the nefarious conduct that we’ve seen”.
The newspaper reported he has urged Iran’s new president Ebrahim Raisi to build goodwill with the international community.
“Under this new president, there is an opportunity to take steps to build up some confidence and goodwill with the rest of the international community, or take steps further and further into pariah status,” Mr Raab said.
Apparently responding to Tuesday’s ship seizure, Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh described recent maritime attacks in the Persian Gulf as “completely suspicious” and denied that Tehran played any role.
Over the past few years, commercial shipping in vital Persian Gulf waterways has increasingly been targeted, amid continued tensions between Iran and the West over its activities in the Middle East and Tehran’s fragile nuclear deal.
The Gulf of Oman is near the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf through which a fifth of all oil passes.
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