Anti-ship cruise missile from Houthi-controlled Yemen strikes tanker, causes fire: US military

An anti-ship cruise missile launched from Houthi-controlled Yemen struck a commercial tanker vessel and caused a fire, said the United States Central Command (CENTCOM). This comes days after the Iran-backed Houthi rebels threatened to target any ships near Israel, which is engaged in a war with Palestinian militant group Hamas in Gaza.

The US military reported that there was damage but no casualties due to the incident which took placeon Monday (Dec 11).

What happened?

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The attack on what is reported to be a Norwegian-flagged tanker STRINDA took place around 111 kilometres north of the Bab al-Mandab Strait connecting the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden around 2100 GMT, a US official told Reuters.

A second US official told the news agency that the ship was able to move under its own power in the hours after the attack. “The STRINDA reported damage causing a fire on-board, but no casualties at this time,” said the CENTCOM, which oversees American forces in the Middle East.

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“There were no US ships in the vicinity at the time of the attack, but the USS MASON responded to the M/T STRINDA's mayday call and is currently rendering assistance,” it said in a statement.

The STRINDA is a Norway-flagged chemical tanker and is owned by Mowinckel Chemical Tankers, according to Reuters. The report citing data from ship tracking firm Kpler said that the STRINDA had loaded vegetable oil and biofuels in Malaysia and was headed for Venice, Italy.

UK flags unusual activity near Yemen

The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) agency said that it received reports of an entity declaring itself to be the Yemeni navy ordering a vessel to alter course to an unspecified Yemeni port, on Tuesday (Dec 12).

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Notably, ships of both Yemen’s internationally recognised government and Houthi rebels self-identify as Yemeni navy. According to monitoring service TankerTrackers.com, the suspected vessel was a “northbound cargo-laden oil tanker”.

Houthis claim responsibility for attack

The recent incident involving the Norwegian tanker comes after Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels, on Saturday (Dec 9) said that they would target all ships heading to Israel, regardless of their nationality, and warned international shipping companies against dealing in Israeli ports.

The threat was issued amid Israel’s ongoing war with the Palestinian militant group Hamas in Gaza and the Houthis which control much of Yemen, says its attacks are a show of support for the Palestinians.

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TheIran-backed group later claimed responsibility for the attack calling it a "qualitative military operation" against a tanker which was carrying oil to Israel.

"The naval forces of the Yemeni Armed Forces carried out a qualitative military operation against the Norwegian ship Strinda, which was loaded with oil" bound for Israel, said themilitary spokesman Yahya Saree, as quoted by news agency AFP.

Since the beginning of December, several commercial vessels have come under attack in international waters prompting the US Navy destroyers stationed in the region to intervene.

On Sunday (Dec 3), the US military said that the Carney, an American destroyer, responded to distress calls and provided assistance after missile and drone attacks on three separate commercial vessels operating in international waters in the southern Red Sea.

(With inputs from agencies)