A Gabon-owned and India-bound crude oil tanker faced an attack drone allegedly fired by Yemen's Houthi rebels in the Red Sea, the United States military said on Sunday, 24 December.
The vessel, M/V Sai Baba, which is managed by an Indian company, has an Indian crew. The US Central Command said the attack was unsuccessful and the vessel was not hit. No injuries have been reported in the incident.
"M/V SAIBABA, a Gabon-owned, Indian-flagged crude oil tanker, reported that it was hit by a one-way attack drone with no injuries reported," the US Central Command said in a statement.
At the same time, a Norwegian-flagged, owned, and operated chemical/oil tanker also reported that it was almost hit by a Houthi drone. This incident follows drones and missile attacks in the Red Sea by Iran-backed Houthis, who say they are supporting Palestinians under siege by Israel in the Gaza Strip, on commercial shipping, forcing shippers to change course and take longer routes around the southern tip of Africa, Reuters reported.
The two ships alerted a US naval ship, USS Laboon (DDG 58), which responded to their distress calls.
This is the 14th and 15th attacks on commercial shipping vessels by Houthi rebels since 17 October, the US military said.
These attacks occurred around 10:30 pm (IST) on Saturday, 23 December – merely hours after another tanker came under attack off the Indian coast, in Gujarat's Veraval. The Japanese-owned and Israel-affiliated chemical tanker was targeted by a drone "fired from Iran," claimed the Pentagon, as per AFP.
Iran-backed Houthis have been carrying out drone and missile attacks in the Red Sea, in support of Palestinians under Israeli siege in the Gaza Strip, forcing Israel-linked commercial ships to change course and take longer routes around the southern tip of Africa, Reuters reported.
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