THE death of a father from Andover who was killed by an Iranian drone strike on an oil products tanker has been ruled as an unlawful killing, an inquest concluded.
Adrian Underwood, 44, a security officer and former soldier from Andover, died on August 3, 2021, aboard the MV Mercer Street oil products tanker vessel off the coast of Oman.
The final day of the inquest, held in Winchester Coroner's Court on Friday, November 21, heard that Mr Underwood, who was born in Fiji, and was a husband and father of one, was killed unlawfully.
A veteran soldier, Mr Underwood trained at the School of Artillery in Larkhill and served in Afghanistan in 2009, before transferring to the 32nd Royal Artillery and eventually taking voluntary army redundancy in 2013.
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Mr Underwood went on to become a telecoms engineer in Andover, and eventually switched careers to join maritime security company Ambrey Ltd, training in Southampton in 2020.
He was quickly promoted to team leader and held the role as part of the security detail on board the vessel when a drone targeted it.
The inquest heard that Mr Underwood was in "good spirits" and "loved his job", and that he did not express "any concerns whatsoever" about his role.
Area coroner Jason Pegg said that the drone strike, which targeted the ship Mr Underwood was on, left him with fatal head, neck and chest injuries.
He read a post-mortem report from Dr Delaney, the Home Office registered pathologist, who said that Mr Underwood's injuries, caused by an explosion, were "clearly irreversible".
The court heard that the MV Mercer Street, which was carrying no cargo at the time of the attack, was built in Japan in 2013, managed by Zodiac Maritime Ltd, sailed under the flag of Liberia, and was owned by an Israeli-based family.
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, but 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.
He said there is "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 NV Mercer Street and killed Mr Underwood.
The court heard that the United States Navy's USS Ronald Reagan recovered UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle) parts, which were sent for examination at RAF Porton Down in Wiltshire.
It is believed that the drone that killed Mr Underwood was a Shahed 136 kamikaze drone, commonly utilised by Iran.
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