A liquefied gas carrier flying the flag of Cameroon issued a distress signal following an explosion that occurred on it while it was sailing off the coast of Yemen, the British maritime security company Ambrey and the European naval force “Shields” announced today.
The incident occurred in the Gulf of Aden, approximately 60 nautical miles south of Ahwar, on the southern coast of Yemen, Ambrey pointed out.
For its part, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) service reported a fire that broke out on the ship after it was hit by a missile of unknown identity.
The EU naval force “Shields”, which is deployed in the region, pointed out that a “fire is raging” on 15% of the “Cameroon-flagged MV Falcon”.
The causes of the explosion remain unknown, but due to the risk of further explosions, as the ship is carrying liquefied natural gas, the “Shields” operation recommended that vessels in the area maintain a safe distance.
According to the same source, rescue operations are underway and so far 24 of the 26 crew members have been rescued, while one person remains on the tanker and another is still missing.
The tanker had sailed from the port of Sohar in Oman and was heading to Djibouti.
Sources from maritime security companies pointed out that neither missiles nor drones were detected in the area.
Furthermore, as Ambrey noted, the ship’s profile does not appear to match that of the ships targeted by Yemen’s Houthis. Since 2023 and the start of the war between Israel and Hamas, the Shiite rebels have launched numerous attacks against ships they consider to be linked to Israel, in a show of solidarity with the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.
However, Ambrey pointed out that the American organization United Against Nuclear Iran had reported in 2022 that this ship was involved in activities circumventing international sanctions.
Source: APE-MPE
