US says the Norwegian-registered Strinda caught fireplace after it was struck however no casualties had been reported.
A tanker ship travelling by way of the strategic Bab el-Mandeb Strait separating East Africa from the Arabian Peninsula off the coast of Yemen has been hit by a missile.
The US Central Command (CENTCOM) mentioned the Strinda, a Norwegian-owned-and-operated ship, was hit at about midnight native time (21:00 GMT on Monday).
The ship “was attacked by what is assessed to have been an Anti-Ship Cruise Missile (ASCM) launched from a Houthi-controlled area of Yemen while passing through the Bab-el-Mandeb”, CENTCOM mentioned in a press release.
The Strinda, an oil and chemical tanker, is a part of the fleet of Bergen-based delivery agency Mowinckels Rederi, in line with its web site, and was on its method to Italy.
Chief govt Geir Belsnes confirmed that the ship had been “hit by a missile” and caught fireplace.
“Fortunately, there were no injuries to any member of the crew, who managed to extinguish the fire,” Belsnes advised Al Jazeera in an e mail. “Our focus has been, and remains, the safety and well-being of the seafarers onboard.”
He added that the ship was now “proceeding to a safe port”.
The assault on the vessel comes as threats on business delivery within the space amid the Israel-Hamas warfare escalate. Yemen’s Iranian-backed Houthis have carried out a sequence of assaults on vessels within the Purple Sea and launched drones and missiles focusing on Israel. In latest days, they’ve threatened to focus on any vessel they imagine is both going to or coming from Israel.
The Houthis didn’t instantly declare duty for the assault, though the Related Press information company reported insurgent navy spokesperson Brigadier Normal Yahya Saree saying an vital announcement could be made quickly.
The UK Maritime Commerce Operations, a naval company offering safety alerts to ships, earlier reported a fireplace on an unidentified vessel about 15 nautical miles (28km) off the Yemeni port of Mokha.
The coordinates correspond to the final recognized location of the Strinda, which is a part of the fleet of Bergen-based Mowinckels Rederi, in line with its web site. The corporate didn’t instantly reply to an emailed request for remark.
CENTCOM mentioned the USS Mason had responded to the Strinda’s mayday name and supplied help.
The US and France have stopped in need of saying their ships have been focused however have mentioned that Houthi drones have headed in direction of their ships and been shot down in self-defence.
Washington has to this point declined to straight reply to the assaults, as has Israel, whose navy continues to explain the ships as not having hyperlinks to their nation.
In November, the Houthis seized a automobile transport ship linked to Israel within the Purple Sea off Yemen. The rebels nonetheless maintain the vessel close to the port metropolis of Hodeidah. Individually, a container ship owned by an Israeli billionaire got here beneath assault by a suspected Iranian drone within the Indian Ocean.
A tentative ceasefire between the Houthis and a Saudi-led coalition preventing on behalf of Yemen’s exiled authorities has been holding after years of preventing that has created one of many world’s worst humanitarian crises.
