Illustrative image.
The Houthis (Ansar Allah) had attacked a Chinese-owned oil tanker in the Red Sea on March 23, the United States Central Command (CENTCOM) announced.
In a statement released on March 24, the command said that the Houthis first fired four anti-ship ballistic missiles from their area of control in Yemen at the vicinity of the Panamanian-flagged, Chinese-owned, Chinese-operated Huang Pu, and later a fifth missile launched by group struck the oil tanker.
“The ship issued a distress call but did not request assistance. M/V Huang Pu suffered minimal damage, and a fire on board was extinguished within 30 minutes. No casualties were reported, and the vessel resumed its course,” CETNCOM said. “The Houthis attacked the MV Huang despite previously stating they would not attack Chinese vessels.”
The United Kingdom Marine Trade Operations (UKMTO), a detachment of the Royal Navy, confirmed that a fire had broken out on board the tanker but was extinguished within 30 minutes. According to UKMTO, the tank was struck 23 nautical miles west of the Yemeni port of Mokha.
The Marinetraffic tracking website later had the vessel sailing out of the Red Sea into the Gulf of Aden heading for its next port of call which, according to the British maritime security agency Ambrey, was New Mangalore in India.
Ambrey also said in a statement that “the tanker’s registration details, including name and operator, had been changed as recently as February 2024”.
CENTCOM announced in the same statement that its forces, including the Arleigh Burke-class destroyer USS Carney, engaged six Houthi drones over the southern Red Sea on March 23. Five drones crashed into the Red Sea, and one flew inland into Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen.
“It was determined these UAVs [unmanned aerial vehicles] presented an imminent threat to U.S., coalition, and merchant vessels in the region. These actions are taken to protect freedom of navigation and make international waters safer and more secure for U.S, coalition, and merchant vessels,” the command said.
The Houthis have attacked more than 60 of Israel-affiliated vessels and others owned by the U.S. and the United Kingdom in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden since last November in response to the Israeli war and siege on Gaza. The group is yet to claim responsibility for the attack on Huang Pu.
It’s worth noting that the U.S. and the UK carried out hundreds of strikes against Houthi-controlled areas in Yemen in recent months. At least 34 people were killed in the strikes. Still, the Houthis remain undeterred.
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