Pro-Iranian Houthi rebels attack Norwegian oil tanker
Huthi spokesman Saree explained that the ship's crew had not responded to the "warnings" addressed to them.
According to Centcom, the impact caused damage and a fire, but no one was injured. This was also confirmed by the Norwegian shipping company J. Ludwig Mowinckels Rederi, which operates the ship that was hit. The crew members, all of whom are Indian nationals, were able to extinguish the fire, the shipping company added. The ship, loaded with raw materials for biofuel, was on its way from Malaysia to Italy and was now heading for a safe port.
The "Strinda", which is around 144 meters long and belongs to the Norwegian company Mowinckel Chemical Tankers, was on its way to the Suez Canal, which connects the north of the Red Sea with the Mediterranean, at the time of the attack.
The anti-ship cruise missile used in the attack was fired from an area in Yemen controlled by the Huthi rebels, the US Central Command Centcom explained on the online service X (formerly Twitter). According to the statement, the Norwegian-flagged "Strinda" sent out a distress call and the US warship "USS Mason" rushed to the tanker's aid.
According to the French Ministry of Defense, the attacked tanker also received help from the French Navy. The frigate "Languedoc" "intercepted and destroyed" a drone that was threatening the "Strinda", the ministry said in Paris. The "Languedoc" then protected the targeted ship and prevented an attempted hijacking.
Since the beginning of the war between Israel and Hamas, the Houthi militia in Yemen has repeatedly fired drones and missiles at Israel and attacked ships in the Red Sea. On November 19, Houthi fighters also captured the freighter "Galaxy Leader" and took its crew prisoner.
On Saturday, the Iran-backed rebels threatened further attacks on ships in the Red Sea heading for Israel if no humanitarian aid reached the Gaza Strip. The Houthi rebels see themselves as part of the self-proclaimed "Axis of Resistance" directed against Israel.
The Bab-al-Mandeb strait, where the "Strinda" was attacked, lies between Djibouti and Yemen and connects the Red Sea with the Gulf of Aden - and therefore with the Indian Ocean. It is of great importance for global maritime trade, especially for the transportation of oil.
Meanwhile, the German newspaper Handelsblatt reported that the USA wanted to forge a naval alliance to protect shipping traffic in the Red Sea and was therefore also holding talks with the German government.
The newspaper reported, citing Berlin government circles, that the USA had expressed a fundamental interest in stronger maritime cooperation to the inspector of the navy. The request covers a broad spectrum of military capabilities, ranging from the deployment of warships to the Red Sea to the secondment of individual naval specialists.
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Source: www.stern.de
