Armed attackers boarded and captured a chemical tanker ship off the coast of Yemen on Sunday, then quickly abandoned the vessel before being apprehended by United States Naval forces. In response to the arrest of the five assailants, believed to be members of the Iranian-backed Houthi rebel army, ballistic missiles were launched towards the American warship, marking the latest escalation of maritime hostilities related to the Israel-Hamas war.
According to US Navy officials, personnel aboard the USS Mason (an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer assigned to the Eastern Mediterranean), detected a distress signal from the Liberian-flagged Central Park at approximately 6 am local time. The vessel, which was transporting a large shipment of phosphoric acid through the International Recommended Transit Corridor, is managed by Zodiac Maritime, a London-based subsidiary of the Zodiac Group owned by Israeli billionaire Eyal Ofer.
The distress signal reported that five gunmen had boarded the Central Park from a skiff launched from the Yemeni coast, causing the crew to lock themselves in the ship’s armored saferoom (or “Citadel”). After unsuccessfully trying to break down the door, the would-be hijackers abandoned the ship as the USS Mason, an allied Japanese destroyer, and a US helicopter gunship approached.
“Subsequently, five armed individuals debarked the ship and attempted to flee via their small boat,” said a statement from the Navy’s Central Command. “The Mason pursued the attackers resulting in their eventual surrender.”
Zodiac Maritime later confirmed that the Central Park, its crew, and its cargo were all unharmed.
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The five assailants were taken into custody by the US Navy but were not immediately identified. Yemen’s internationally recognized government blamed the attempted hijacking on the Iran-backed Houthi rebel movement, a radical Shi’ite faction that seized control of the Yemeni capitol city of Sanaa in 2014. Houthi representatives did not claim responsibility or acknowledge the incident.
However, shortly after the attackers were apprehended, two ballistic missiles were launched from Houthi-controlled territory towards the Mason and Central Park, splashing down well short of both ships. According to the Central Command, “there was no damage or reported injuries from either vessel during this incident.”
It is unclear whether the missiles were shot down or were merely intended as a warning. Houthi leaders similarly did not acknowledge the launch.
The attack on the Central Park marks the latest in a series of hijackings off the coast of Yemen in response to the Israel-Hamas war. Last week, confirmed Houthi militants seized control of a cargo ship in the Red Sea, taking its 25 crewmembers hostage. The Bahamian-flagged Galaxy Leader, operated by Japanese shipping company NYK Line, is partly owned by wealthy Israeli shipping magnate Abraham “Rami” Ungar.
Houthi leadership has promised to “target all types of ships that carry the flag of the Zionist entity or are operated by or owned by Israeli companies” as punishment for Israel’s campaign in Gaza.
An additional attack was reported on Friday against a Malta-flagged cargo ship in the Indian Ocean. The CMA CGM SYMI, owned by Israeli billionaire Idan Ofer—the younger brother of Eyal Ofer, owner of the Zodiac Group—was hit by a kamikaze drone allegedly launched by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Core (IRGC). As with the other attacks, the bombing is believed to have been motivated by the ships’ Jewish ownership.
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