A crude oil tanker, with 25 Indian crew members on board, suffered a drone attack in the Red Sea. According to the US military, the attack drone was fired by Huthi fighters. Upon being hit, the crude oil tanker sent out a distress call to a US warship in the area.
Indian Navy officials said 25 Indian crew members are on board a Gabbon-flagged vessel MV Saibaba which suffered a drone attack in the Red Sea. All the crew members are safe, they added.
The Indian Navy also clarified that it wasn't an India-flagged vessel, as claimed by the US earlier, but one carrying a Gabones flag.
Earlier on Sunday, the US military had claimed that an Indian-flagged crude oil tanker was among two vessels that came under drone attacks by Yemen's Houthi in the Southern Red Sea.
The US Central Command said in a statement that two Houthi anti-ship ballistic missiles were fired into international shipping lanes in the Southern Red Sea from Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen.
No ships reported being impacted by the ballistic missiles.
"On December 23 two Houthi anti-ship ballistic missiles were fired into international shipping lanes in the Southern Red Sea from Houthi-controlled areas of Houthi militants. No ships reported being impacted by the ballistic missiles," the US Central Command posted on X.
At the same time, between 3 and 8 pm (Sanaa time), the USS LABOON (DDG 58) was patrolling the Southern Red Sea as part of Operation Prosperity Guardian (OPG).
The USS LABOON successfully intercepted and "shot down unmanned aerial drones originating from Houthi-controlled areas in Yemen that were inbound to the USS LABOON. There were no injuries or damage in this incident", CENTCOM added in its post.
Later, at approximately 8 pm (Sanaa time), US Naval Forces Central Command received distress reports from two ships in the Southern Red Sea indicating that they were under attack.
"The M/V BLAAMANEN, a Norwegian-flagged, owned, and operated chemical/oil tanker, reported a near miss of a Houthi one-way attack drone with no injuries or damage reported. A second vessel, the 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 USS LABOON (DDG 58) responded to the distress calls from these attacks," the US CENTCOM claimed in its post earlier.
The US Central Command underscored the gravity of the situation, emphasising that these attacks pose a threat to the safety and security of international maritime traffic.
"These attacks represent the 14th and 15th attacks on commercial shipping by Houthi militants since October 17," the post added.
Iran-backed Houthi rebels stepped up attacks on ships in the Red Sea in the aftermath of the inhuman Israeli aggression against human beings of besieged Gaza Strip.
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