The assault occurred hours after one other tanker got here below assault off the Indian coast. (File)
An Indian-flagged crude oil tanker was hit by an assault drone fired by Yemen’s Houthi rebels within the Pink Sea, the US navy mentioned at the moment. M/V Saibaba, a Gabon-owned tanker, reported no accidents however despatched out a misery name to a US warship within the space, the US Central Command mentioned on X, previously Twitter.
The assault occurred round 10:30 pm (IST) yesterday, hours after one other tanker got here below assault off the Indian coast, which the US blamed on Iran.
Two ships had knowledgeable an US naval ship patrolling within the Southern Pink Sea that they have been below assault. One in all them, a Norwegian-flagged and owned chemical tanker named M/V Blaamanen reported a close to miss of a Houthi drone, the US navy mentioned.
The second was the crude oil tanker M/V Saibaba, which was hit.
“A second vessel, the M/V SAIBABA, a Gabon-owned, Indian-flagged crude oil tanker, reported that it was hit by a one-way assault drone with no accidents reported. The USS LABOON (DDG 58) responded to the misery calls from these assaults,” the US navy mentioned.
The US destroyer had shot down 4 drones originating from Yemen’s Houthi-controlled areas previous to the newest incidents.
The Houthi rebels are backed by Iran, which has been accused in yesterday’s assault on MV Chem Pluto off the Indian coast. They’ve repeatedly focused ships within the Pink Sea, claiming that they’re focusing on Israeli-linked vessels in solidarity with Gaza.
Saturday’s incidents have been the 14th and fifteenth assaults on industrial transport by the Houthi rebels since October 17, the US navy mentioned.
The Japanese-owned MV Chem Pluto, which got here below assault yesterday, was focused by a drone “fired from Iran”, the Pentagon has mentioned. However Iran’s Deputy International Minister Ali Bagheri mentioned the Houthi act on their “personal selections and capabilities.”
There was an increase in transport assaults within the Pink Sea for the reason that Israel-Hamas battle started in October. Main transport companies have rerouted their cargo vessels across the southern tip of Africa, regardless of greater gas prices for longer voyages.
