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Crew members struggled to control a fire on the Marlin Luanda on Saturday, 18 hours after the tanker was hit by a Houthi missile in the Gulf of Aden.
The fire on the ship was the most devastating of more than 30 attacks by the Houthis on merchant vessels in the past three months. The ship was carrying a refined oil product manufactured in Russia on behalf of commodity trader Trafigura.
Trafigura said Saturday that “no casualties or casualties” had been reported on the 250-meter-long ship.
But it added: “The crew continues to make efforts, with the assistance of military vessels, to control the fire in one of the ship's cargo tanks. “The safety of the crew remains our top priority.”
Previous Houthi attacks, which primarily affected container ships or dry bulk vessels, caused minimal damage and all fires were quickly extinguished. This attack is likely to prompt more shipowners to avoid the southern Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.
Arsenio Dominguez, Secretary-General of the United Nations International Maritime Organization, wrote on the social media platform
The missile that hit the tanker was the first to hit a merchant ship since the United States and Britain launched a second series of attacks against the militants on Monday. The Houthis have wreaked havoc on global trade by targeting the critical route to and from the Suez Canal.
Earlier on Friday, the Houthis fired an anti-ship missile at the USS Carney, a US Navy ship in the Gulf of Aden. U.S. Central Command said the Carney successfully shot down the missile.
American forces launched an attack Saturday against a Houthi anti-ship missile that was preparing to fire, according to U.S. Central Command.
Houthis spokesman Yahya Saree said the group targeted the Marlin Luanda, which it described as a “British oil ship.” While the ship was operating on behalf of Singapore-based Trafigura, its registered owner is Oceonix Services, a company based in the City of London.
Trafigura said the ship was carrying naphtha of “Russian origin,” an oil product that was allegedly purchased below the price cap for the country’s oil set by international sanctions.
The Houthis say they are acting in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza after Israel declared war on Hamas, the militant group that attacked Israel on October 7.
The Yemeni rebels initially said they only targeted ships linked to Israel, although many of those targeted appeared to have no connection to the Jewish state.
Since then, the Houthis have expanded their target list to include ships with ties to the US and Britain. Many shipping industry executives had assumed that ships carrying cargo to or from Russia or China would enjoy some protection because of the Houthi pledge not to attack Russian and Chinese ships.
Container ship arrivals in the region in recent weeks have been 90 percent below early November levels, according to Clarksons, a shipping services group.
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Most instead take a longer route around the Cape of Good Hope, which has significantly increased travel time and cost.
On Wednesday, the Houthis fired at least three missiles at two U.S.-flagged container ships, the Maersk Detroit and the Maersk Chesapeake, as they passed through the Bab-el-Mandeb at the mouth of the Red Sea.
The ships, part of a fleet of 20 U.S.-flagged vessels almost exclusively carrying U.S. government cargo, were accompanied by the USS Gravely. The US naval ship shot down two of the missiles and another fell into the sea.
Maersk, the world's second-largest container shipping line, said it would no longer send its U.S.-flagged fleet through the area. The Copenhagen-based company's other ships have been traveling across the Cape of Good Hope since December.