The US military reported that two ballistic missiles, launched from an area in Yemen under Houthi control, narrowly missed a US warship.
The USS Mason was assisting a tanker, named the Central Park, which had been captured in the Gulf of Aden.
According to the US Central Command, the missiles landed in the water approximately 10 miles from the USS Mason, with no damage or injuries reported on either vessel.
The Houthi group has not made any statement regarding the incident. The US Central Command detailed that its forces, along with allies and the Arleigh Burke-class destroyer USS Mason, intervened in the seizure of the tanker.
They demanded the release of the tanker by the armed individuals who had boarded it.
Following a pursuit by the Mason, five armed individuals disembarked from the ship and attempted to escape on a small boat, eventually surrendering.
Yemen’s internationally recognized government has accused the Iran-supported Houthi rebels of orchestrating this attack, which is one of several recent maritime incidents connected to the conflict between Israel and Hamas.
The seized tanker, the Liberian-flagged Central Park, is managed by Zodiac Maritime and was in the Gulf of Aden when it was captured.
Zodiac Maritime, a company under the Zodiac Group owned by Israeli billionaire Eyal Ofer, confirmed that the ship and its 22-member crew from various nations were unharmed.
Zodiac Maritime expressed gratitude towards coalition forces for their rapid response, which ensured the safety of maritime assets and upheld international maritime law. However, the company did not provide specifics about how the attackers left the vessel or their identities.
The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO), responsible for maritime safety warnings in the Middle East, had previously alerted sailors to the presence of “two black-and-white craft carrying eight persons in military-style clothing” in the vicinity.
