A VLCC tanker owned by a Saudi Arabian shipping group was attacked on the 3rd April, south west of the port of Hodeidah in Yemen, in international waters.
“The VLCC (very large crude carrier) suffered only minor damage and there were no injuries to our crew aboard. The cargo was unaffected and there was no loss of containment. The crude carrier successfully resumed her northward journey across the Red Sea,” the owners confirmed in a statement.
Houthi rebels are the suspected perpetrators behind the attack, said to be motivated by the Saudi-led coalition’s blockade of their last port.
The group had previously suggested they would begin targeting commercial ships to disrupt maritime movement through the region, if the coalition did not withdraw from the area around the last rebel-held port city of Al Hudaydah.
It has been reported that a coalition warship came to the aid of the VLCC tanker and escorted the vessel as she continued north in the Red Sea.
All vessels transiting in the Gulf of Aden, Bab-el-Mandeb Strait and the Red Sea are advised to exercise extreme caution and utilise all security measures available.