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Crew members escape unhurt after Houthis target S’pore-flagged cargo ship

2024-03-09 00:00:00.0 海峡时报-世界原网页

SINGAPORE/ADEN - Yemen’s Houthi rebels fired two missiles at a Singapore-flagged cargo ship on March 8 but missed their target.

The Singapore-registered vessel, Propel Fortune, was sailing in the Gulf of Aden when crew members “saw flashes”, after the missiles exploded in the vicinity of the vessel at about 9pm Singapore time on March 8, the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) told The Straits Times.

The vessel is not damaged and all 26 crew members on board are “safe and well”, an MPA spokesperson said, adding that the ship is currently en route to the Arabian Sea.

MPA is in contact with the vessel owner to offer assistance.

Houthi military spokesman Yahya Sarea claimed responsibility for the attack in a televised speech on March 9, reported Xinhua news agency.

He said the navy carried out two military operations.

“The first targeted the American ship Propel Fortune in the Gulf of Aden with a number of suitable naval missiles, while the second operation targeted a number of American warships in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden using 37 drones,” the spokesman said on the Houthi-run al-Masirah TV.

His statement suggested that the Houthis could have mistaken Propel Fortune for an American-owned ship. The US is Israel’s main military and diplomatic ally.

The Houthis were drawn into the war between Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas in November 2023, when they began attacking ships in the Red Sea.

They have said they are targeting Israel-linked vessels in retaliation for Israel’s war in Gaza, but ships with no direct connection with Israel have been affected.

Like Hamas, the Houthis are backed by Iran.

On March 9, the United States Central Command (Centcom) said US Navy ships and aircraft shot down 15 unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) belonging to Yemen’s Houthis in the Red Sea in response to the latter’s large-scale attack between 4am local time (9am Singapore time) and 6.30am that day.

The UAVs would pose “an imminent threat to merchant vessels, US Navy and coalition ships in the region”, Centcom said.

The attack on the Singapore-flagged ship follows a similar missile strike by the Houthis on March 6 targeting the Barbados-flagged True Confidence cargo ship, which the group claimed is American-owned.

That attack killed at least three crew members and seriously injured four others of the multinational 20-strong crew, according to Centcom.

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