A British father was unlawfully killed by an Iranian drone that struck the empty oil tanker he was on in the Middle East, an inquest has heard.

Adrian Underwood had been working as a security officer when the vessel was attacked in August 2021 off the coast of Oman.

The 44-year-old was a veteran soldier who had joined a maritime security agency just a year earlier.

The motive behind the strike is still unknown but an inquest heard it could have been due to its Israeli ownership.

Hampshire, Portsmouth and Southampton Area Coroner Jason Pegg said the attack left Mr Underwood with fatal head, neck and chest injuries.

A post-mortem report from pathologist Dr Delaney said the injuries, caused by an explosion, were ‘clearly irreversible’.

The court heard the tanker, Mercer Street, which was carrying no cargo at the time of the attack, was built in Japan in 2013 and was owned by an Israeli-based family.

The ship sailed under the flag of Liberia and was managed by Zodiac Maritime.

Detective Sergeant Shane Gaughan, the case officer investigating Mr Underwood’s death, said there had never been any ‘substantive evidence’ to explain why the vessel was targeted.

He added there had been speculation that it could have been due to the Israeli link, or even targeted by mistake, but there was ‘no evidence’ to prove either theory.

DS Gaughan said there was ‘no evidence that it was at more risk than any other vessel, other than Israeli ownership, but that is speculation, not evidence’.

He explained that three drone strikes were recorded in total throughout the day, and that crew members had reported hearing ‘whizzing’ noises in the distance.

The third strike targeted the vessel and killed Mr Underwood, the inquest heard.

The United States Navy’s USS Ronald Reagan recovered UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle) parts, which were sent for examination at RAF Porton Down, Wilts.

It is believed that the drone that killed Mr Underwood was a Shahed 136 kamikaze drone, commonly used by Iran.

Mr Underwood, originally from Fiji, trained at the School of Artillery in Larkhill, Wiltshire, and served in Afghanistan in 2009, before transferring to the 32nd Royal Artillery and eventually taking voluntary army redundancy in 2013.

He went on to become a telecoms engineer in Andover, Hampshire.

Mr Underwood switched careers to join maritime security company Ambrey, training in Southampton, Hants, in 2020 before quickly being promoted to team leader.

The inquest heard he was in ‘good spirits’ and ‘loved his job’, and he did not have ‘any concerns whatsoever’ about the work.