An oil tanker sailing under the Indian flag was hit on Saturday in the Red Sea by An attack drone fired by Yemen’s Houthi rebels.announced the United States Central Command (Centcom).
In a statement, Centcom added that no one was injured in the attack that prompted the ship MV Saibaba, owned by a Gabonese company, to send out a distress call.
Another oil tanker, the MV Blaamanen, flying the Norwegian flag, was also the target of a Houthi dronewhich narrowly missed, added Centcom, which added that these were the 14th and 15th Attacks on commercial ships by Yemeni rebels. since October 17.
Hours earlier, Centcom revealed on the social network
“USS Laboon”shot down four drones coming from areas of Yemen controlled by the Houthis that were heading” toward the American ship, Centcom said, adding that “there were no injuries or damage”.
The US Department of Defense accused Iran of launching a drone responsible for another attack, also on Saturday, against a commercial ship in the Indian Ocean, which caused damage but no injuries.
The ship MV Chem Pluto was sailing under the Liberian flag, owned by a Japanese company and operated by a Dutch company, the US department said.
The American newspaper Wall Street Journal stated that the Dutch company that operates the MV Chem Pluto “is linked to Israeli shipping magnate Idan Ofer.”
Yemeni rebels, who claim to support the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas in its war against Israel, have in recent weeks claimed responsibility for several attacks on commercial ships linked, they said, to Israel.
Large shipping companies, such as the Chinese Cosco, its subsidiary OOCL and the Taiwanese Evergreen, have temporarily suspended cargo transport on the Red Sea route – one of the main maritime routes in the world that connects Europe, Asia and Africa – joining companies such as Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd. .
US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin announced on Tuesday the creation of a new international mission to combat attacks by Yemeni Houthi rebels against ships in the Red Sea.
The U.S. Department of Defense said Thursday that more than 20 countries will participate.
The Prosperity Guardian mission will be coordinated by the Combined Maritime Forces (CMF), which includes a task force, CTF 153, created in April 2022 to improve maritime security in the Red Sea and the Bab el Mandeb Strait.
The CMF is made up of 39 countries, including Portugal.
Source: TSF
