Houthis attacked tanker flying American flag in Gulf of Aden

An anti-ship missile was used in the attack on the vessel. The US Central Command reported that the USS Mason destroyer intercepted an anti-ship ballistic missile launched into the Gulf of Aden from Houthi-controlled areas in Yemen, which was likely targeting the tanker Torm Thor sailing under the American flag.

It is emphasized that neither the USS Mason nor the Torm Thor was damaged, and the intercepted missile fell at a distance from the oil tanker and the US Navy ship.

What preceded

It was previously reported that Yemeni Houthi rebels fired rockets at the Marlin Luanda tanker owned by the Trafigura Group on the evening of January 26. The attack occurred approximately 55 miles southeast of the city of Aden, resulting in a fire on board the vessel.

Later, it became known that the tanker was transporting Russian petroleum products for the production of gasoline and plastics. The raw material was loaded onto the ship in Greece, indicating a violation of sanctions imposed by the EU and the US on the export of Russian petroleum products.

For the second time, Houthis launched a missile strike on a tanker carrying Russian oil on January 12. The missile launch took place 90 nautical miles southeast of the Yemeni port city of Aden. It is noted that the vessel was selected as a target for the attack, presumably based on outdated publicly available information. The tanker had previously been owned by a British company.

It was also reported that on February 17, militants attacked a tanker under the Panamanian flag in the Red Sea, transporting crude oil to India.