Ship catches fire after attack off Yemen: UK agency

AFP , Wednesday 21 Aug 2024

Three projectiles hit a merchant vessel off Yemen's Houthi-held port city of Hodeida on Wednesday, causing a fire onboard and leaving the ship without engine power, a British maritime security agency said.

Marlin Luanda
File photo: Oil tanker Marlin Luanda on fire after an attack, in the Gulf of Aden. AP

 

Authorities in Athens identified the vessel as the Greek-flagged Sounion oil tanker, and Greece's Maritime Affairs Minister Christos Stylianides condemned "a serious threat" to international shipping.

The tanker was "struck by two unidentified projectiles before being hit by a third", said the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO), which is run by Britain's Royal Navy.

Its crew earlier exchanged fire with two small vessels, one with three to five people onboard while the second carried around 10, said the agency.

"There is a fire onboard and the vessel has lost engine power," UKMTO said, adding that "the vessel is drifting and not under command".

Both the UKMTO and the Greek port authority said there were no reports of casualties.

A spokesperson for the port authority said the Sounion, an oil products tanker owned by Greek shipping company Delta Tankers, carried a crew of 25 people, mostly Filipinos.

It had departed from Iraq and was destined for a port near Athens where many refineries are based, the Greek port authority said.

It said the ship could have been hit either by missiles or drones.

The Houthis did not immediately claim responsibility for the attacks, though it can take them hours or even days before they acknowledge their attacks.

The rebel group have targeted more than 80 vessels with missiles and drones since the war in Gaza started in October. They seized one vessel and sank two in the campaign that also killed four sailors.

Stylianides in a statement "condemned the attack, which constitutes a flagrant violation of international law and a serious threat to the security of international shipping".

"Such acts put the lives of seafarers at risk and disrupt the free movement of goods along vital maritime routes," the minister added.

In a separate incident south of the Yemeni port city of Aden on Wednesday, another ship reported three explosions in the water nearby, UKMTO said.

The crew are reported safe and vessel is proceeding to the next port of call, the agency added.

The United States and Britain have responded to the attacks by striking Houthi targets in Yemen since January, but it has done little to deter the rebels.

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