Houthi Missile Strike Leads To Fire Onboard Chinese Oil Tanker In the Red Sea

A Chinese-owned oil tanker was attacked by ballistic missiles off Yemen fired by Houthis on March 23, 2024, who have lately intensified their strikes on Red Sea shipping.

The Chinese-owned, Panamanian-flagged, and operated Huang Pu sent out a distress call but didn’t request aid, US CENTCOM mentioned in a statement on X on Sunday.

The statement added that zero casualties had been reported, and the vessel resumed course. The Iran-supported rebels, who control a significant portion of the Yemeni Red Sea coast, have fired many dozens of missile as well as drone strikes over the past four months, activities they say are in solidarity with the Palestinians based in Gaza.

CENTCOM and the British Navy’s UK Marine Trade Operations (abbreviated as UKMTO) reported a fire on the vessel, but it was extinguished in about 30 minutes.

A reputed marine tracking website later showed this vessel sailing out of the Red Sea into the Gulf of Aden, moving on to its next port of call, which, per maritime security major Ambrey, was New Mangalore.

There wasn’t any immediate claim of responsibility for the attack, which the UKMTO mentioned struck 23 nautical miles west of the port of Mokha.

CENTCOM stated that Houthi rebels had fired four anti-ship ballistic missiles in the waters of the Red Sea close to Huang Pu before a fifth struck the vessel.

The Houthi rebels launched an attack on the MV Huang despite earlier stating that they wouldn’t attack China’s vessels, it mentioned. Per Ambrey, the tanker’s registration information, including the name and the operator, had been changed as recently as February.

Ambrey stated that it had been registered in 2019 by a British major named Union Maritime Ltd, and one more vessel affiliated with the same firm had earlier been a target of the Houthis.

The Houthis have pledged to target British, Israeli, and US vessels, as well as ships that are heading to ports in Israel, disrupting the traffic along the crucial trade route.

The US, which heads an international coalition indicated to safeguard Red Sea shipping, has been striking Houthi targets based in Yemen since mid-Jan.

CENTCOM reported that, after the attack on Huang Pu, the US forces deployed six drones launched by the Houthi rebels. Of these, five crashed into the waters of the Red Sea.

The sixth one flew into a Houthi-ruled zone based in Yemen, it stated.

Reference: SCMP

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