CNN
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An oil tanker in the Gulf of Aden catches fire after a missile attack by Yemen's Houthi militias, the latest incident linked to an Iran-backed group along the main shipping lane.
The operator of the Marlin Luanda oil tanker, cargo group Trafigura, said on Friday that it was “hit by a missile in the Gulf of Aden while crossing the Red Sea” and that “firefighting equipment on board is being deployed to contain the fire in a cargo tank on the starboard side.”
Iran-backed militants have claimed responsibility for the attack Report “They fired on the tanker in response to US-British aggression against our country.” [Yemen]” and in support of the Palestinian people.
Trafigura, which has offices in Britain, said it was monitoring the situation and that military ships in the region were on their way to “provide assistance”.
The British government has yet to comment on the attack.
A US destroyer in the Gulf of Aden was responding to a distress call from a burning tanker, a US official said.
Earlier in the day, the USS Carney, an Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer, shot down a Houthi anti-ship ballistic missile that targeted a US warship, according to US Central Command. No injuries resulted from the attack on the USS Carney.
The US and UK have been carrying out strikes against Houthi targets in Yemen after the Biden administration and its allies warned the group would suffer the consequences of its attacks on international shipping lanes.
The Houthis have said they will not stop their offensive until the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza ends. In his speech, Houthi leader Abdul Malek al-Houthi said, “It is a great honor and blessing to face the United States directly.”
The attacks have forced some of the world's largest shipping and oil companies to halt traffic through the world's one. The most important sea trade routes. Tankers are adding thousands of miles to international shipping lanes by sailing around the African continent instead of going through the Suez Canal.
CNN previously reported that Iran is carefully calibrating its response to Israel's war on Gaza, allowing and discouraging its proxy groups to exact costs against Israeli and American interests. Same with Iran.
Within Yemen, the years-long conflict between Houthi forces and the Saudi-backed coalition has plunged people into a devastating humanitarian crisis marked by famine, economic turmoil and extreme poverty.
Houthi forces attacked the capital Sanaa in 2014, toppling the internationally recognized and Saudi-backed government and sparking a civil war. The conflict turned into a wider war in 2015 when a Saudi-led coalition intervened to try to defeat the Houthis.
The conflict claimed up to 377,000 lives, the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) reported in 2021. More than half of them died from indirect causes related to the conflict, such as lack of food, water and sanitation.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
