Houthis attack an oil tanker and bulk carrier in the Red Sea

The Iran-aligned Houthis attacked and damaged two merchant ships in the Red Sea off Yemen early Tuesday, as the Middle East conflict escalated in recent days with Israeli strikes on Yemen and Israel’s killing of Hezbollah leaders in Lebanon.

The Panama-flagged tanker Cordelia Moon and the Liberia-flagged bulk carrier Minoan Courage were attacked by missiles and a drone while transiting the Red Sea near Yemen, various reports say.

A vessel was hit by an unmanned vessel and the master reported that a ballast tank was punctured, United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said on Tuesday. The incident occurred 64 nautical miles northwest of Al Hodeidah, Yemen.

The ship’s master reported that the ship was on its way to its next port of call and that the crew was safe.

Although the UKMTO has not identified this vessel, reports say it is the tanker Cordelia Moon. The Cordelia Moon’s digital footprints show, according to Bloomberg, that the ship was returning to the Mediterranean after recently delivering Russian oil to India.

In a second such incident on Tuesday, UKMTO received a report that a ship had been attacked by a missile about 97 nautical miles northwest of Al Hodeidah. The vessel sustained damage but all crew are reported safe, UKMTO said.

This vessel has been identified by security experts as the Liberian-flagged Greek-owned bulk carrier Minoan Courage.

Today’s attacks on merchant ships in the Red Sea are the first by the Houthis in weeks and come hours after Israel carried out airstrikes on targets in Yemen this weekend.

According to official Israeli statements, the strikes in Yemen targeted the port city of Hodeidah in response to recent Houthi attacks on Israeli targets. In Yemen, the city of Ras Isa was also a target, the BBC reported, noting that Israeli strikes targeted the country’s power plants. Yemen’s Ministry of Health said four people were killed in the Israeli attacks and 29 were wounded.

By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com

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