US Navy/Bill Mesta/Portal/File
The U.S. Navy guided-missile destroyer USS Mason pulls alongside a fleet replenishment oiler in the Atlantic Ocean, July 17, 2021.
CNN –
Two ballistic missiles were fired from Houthi rebel-controlled Yemen at a U.S. warship in the Gulf of Aden after the U.S. Navy responded to a distress call from a commercial tanker that had been seized by gunmen, the U.S. military said on Sunday with.
The tanker, identified as Central Park, had been carrying a cargo of phosphoric acid when its crew called for help that “they were under attack by an unknown entity,” U.S. Central Command said in a statement opinion.
The USS Mason, a guided-missile destroyer, and allied ships of a counter-piracy task force operating in the Gulf of Aden and off the coast of Somalia responded to the call for help and requested the ship’s release upon arrival. said Central Command.
“Five armed people then left the ship and attempted to escape in their small boat,” said the statement published on the social media platform X.
“The Mason pursued the attackers, which ultimately led to their surrender,” the statement said, without naming the attackers.
Hours later, at 1:41 a.m. local time Monday morning, two ballistic missiles were fired from areas controlled by Houthi rebels in Yemen “toward the general location” of the USS Mason and Central Park, the statement said.
“The missiles landed in the Gulf of Aden, approximately 10 nautical miles from the ships,” the statement said.
As the missiles were fired, the Mason ended its response to the Central Park distress call. No damage or injuries were reported from Central Park or Mason as a result, it said.
A statement from Central Park operator Zodiac Maritime said Sunday the Liberian-flagged chemical tanker was safe “and all crew, vessel and cargo were unharmed.”
The tanker appears to have ties to an Israeli company; Zodiac Maritime is listed as a company owned by Israeli billionaire Eyal Ofer’s Ofer Global, although a spokesman for Zodiac Maritime, Janni Jarvinen, said Sunday that Zodiac is “not owned by Ofer Global.”
Gen. Erik Kurilla, commander of U.S. Central Command, said in Sunday’s statement that the security of maritime areas is “essential to regional stability.”
“We will continue to work with allies and partners to ensure the security of international shipping lanes,” Kurilla said.