ASIATODAY.ID, DUBAI – A Chinese oil tanker was reportedly attacked with a ballistic missile off the coast of Yemen on Saturday, March 23 2024, which was fired by the Houthi militia.
The US military stated that the rebel group in Yemen was intensifying its attacks on ships in the Red Sea.
US Central Command (Centcom) on Sunday, March 24 2024 reported that the Panama-flagged Huang Pu Ship owned and operated by China issued a distress call. But the ship did not ask for help.
“No casualties were reported,” the statement said.
The Iran-backed Houthi militia, which controls much of Yemen’s Red Sea coast, has launched dozens of missile and drone attacks on ships over the past four months. They carried out this action as a form of solidarity with the Palestinian people in Gaza.
Centcom and the Royal Navy’s British Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said a fire broke out on the ship, but was extinguished within 30 minutes.
Tracking website Marinetraffic then directed the ship out of the Red Sea into the Gulf of Aden to its next port.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack, which UKMTO said occurred 23 nautical miles west of the Yemeni port of Mokha.
Centcom said the Houthis had launched four anti-ship ballistic missiles in the Red Sea near Huang Pu before the fifth missile hit the ship.
“The Houthis attacked the MV Huang despite previously stating they would not attack Chinese ships,” he said.
The Houthi militia has threatened to target Israeli, British and US ships, as well as ships bound for Israeli ports, disrupting traffic along the vital trade route.
The United States, which leads an international coalition to protect Red Sea shipping, has been attacking Houthi targets in Yemen since mid-January.
Centcom said that after the attack on Huang Pu, US forces destroyed six drones launched by the Houthis, five of which fell into the Red Sea. The sixth drone flew back to Houthi-controlled Yemeni territory.
On Thursday, the Houthis told China and Russia that their ships could sail through the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden without being attacked. China and Russia reached an understanding after talks between their diplomats in Oman and Mohammed Abdul Salam, one of the Houthis’ top political figures. (AT Network)
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