Family mourns seafarer killed on oil tanker off Oman coast

The Solanki family in north Mumbai is coming to terms with two deaths in as many months, after its youngest member was killed when a bomb-carrying drone boat struck an oil tanker in the Gulf of Oman. Dixit Amritlal Solanki, a 33-year-old seafarer from Kandivali, died after the oil tanker was hit by an unmanned boat 52 nautical miles off the coast of Muscat Governorate on Monday.

Dixit had come to Mumbai over a month ago for his mother’s last rites, according to Suresh Solanki of the National Union of Seafarers of India (NUSI). “His father, Amritlal, a former seaman, is not in a position to speak after this double tragedy,” Solanki said.

Dixit Solanki was working as an oiler on the tanker and was initially reported missing after the blast.

His elder sister lives in Dubai. The seafarer’s neighbours said he had only recently resumed work at sea after taking time off following the death of his mother.

They described him as a hardworking young man who had taken up the demanding life of a merchant navy professional to support his family.