/Reuters Agency
The tanker MV Falcon, loaded with liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), was on fire and adrift on Saturday, October 18 off the coast of Yemen, after reporting an explosion that forced part of its crew to abandon the ship, according to a statement from the European Union’s Aspides naval force.
The cause of the incident is not clear, but according to initial indications, it was probably an accident, Aspides said. It added that at least 15% of the Cameroon-flagged ship was on fire.
Due to the risk of further explosions, as the tanker was fully loaded with LPG, Aspides recommended that ships in the area maintain a safe distance from the vessel.
“The fire on board is increasing,” Aspides said in a statement. “The MV Falcon represents a danger to navigation. Everyone in the area must exercise extreme caution,” it added.
An operation was underway to rescue its 26 crew members. So far, 24 sailors have been recovered by two merchant ships sailing nearby. One of them, the MV Veda, was transporting the rescued to Djibouti, escorted by a Greek frigate.
Aspides reported that two crew members on board the MV Falcon remain missing.
The MV Falcon was traveling from the Port of Sohar in Oman to Djibouti, according to a previous report from the British security firm Ambrey. The explosion occurred while it was sailing 113 nautical miles southeast of the port of Aden, Yemen.
Maritime security sources indicated that no missiles or unmanned aerial vehicles were detected in the area. Ambrey said the tanker is not believed to match the target profile of the Iranian-aligned Houthi militants in Yemen.
A Houthi Defense Ministry official stated that the group has no connection to the incident, according to the Houthi-run Saba news agency.
Houthi militants have launched numerous attacks on ships in the Red Sea since 2023, claiming they are acting in solidarity with Palestinians in the face of Israel’s war in Gaza. These attacks have disrupted the flow of commerce through the Red Sea and the Suez Canal, one of the world’s busiest shipping routes.
