An oil tanker is on fire in the Gulf of Aden after the Houthis claimed to have hit it with a missile, the latest attack on international shipping by the Iran-backed rebels.
Yahya Saree, a Houthi military spokesman, said that the Marlin Luanda was hit by missiles fired by Yemeni naval forces. “The strike was direct and resulted [in] the burning of the vessel,” he added.
Fire crews on board the oil tanker were working to “control the flames” and save the vessel after it was struck by a missile, the company operating the ship said.
UK Maritime Trade Operations said the attack had taken place 60 miles southeast of Aden and warned other vessels to transit with caution.
While the rebel group claimed the ship was British, this has not been confirmed and shipping data suggested it is flagged in the Marshall Islands in the Pacific Ocean.
Trafigura, the commodities trading group based in Singapore which has offices in Britain, said firefighting equipment on board had been deployed and the safety of the crew was its “foremost priority”.
A Trafigura spokesman said: “Earlier on 26 January the Marlin Luanda, a petroleum products tanker vessel operated on behalf of Trafigura, was struck by a missile as it transited the Red Sea.
“Firefighting equipment on board is being deployed to suppress and control the fire caused in one cargo tank on the starboard side.”
They continued: “We remain in contact with the vessel and are monitoring the situation carefully. Military ships in the region are under way to provide assistance.”
Hours later the US military confirmed it had carried out a “self defence strike” on an anti-ship missile in a Houthi-controlled area of Yemen.
The missile was aimed at the Red Sea and presented “an imminent threat to merchant vessels and the US Navy ships in the region”, according to a statement from US Central Command on Saturday morning. Houthi media channels reported two airstrikes targeting the port of Ras Issa in Hodeidah province.
Interesting:
https://youtu.be/KNHPkYF6-uw?si=73oOvusLOgib68QS Early the US military said one of its warships shot down a missile fired at it by the group, which is acting in support of Palestinians in Gaza.
In the incident involving the US navy vessel, the Houthis fired an anti-ship ballistic missile from Yemen towards the destroyer USS Carney in the Gulf of Aden, according to US Central Command.
“The missile was successfully shot down by USS Carney,” it said. “There were no injuries or damage reported.”…