A Norwegian-owned vessel was attacked in the Red Sea on Monday in a strike that U.S. officials said originated from Yemeni territory controlled by the Iran-aligned Houthi movement.
The attack on the M/V Swan Atlantic was the latest in a series on ships sailing the sea since the start of the Gaza war.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility but the U.S. officials, who did not want to be identified, told Reuters the vessel was attacked by multiple projectiles launched from Houthi-controlled territory.
The owner of the ship said it was hit by an unidentified object and that none of its crew had been injured.
Oystein Elgan, chief executive of owner Inventor Chemical Tankers, told Reuters the ship’s water tank had been damaged in the attack but all the vessel’s systems were operating normally.
Operator Uni-Tankers said in a statement the crew had brought under control a small fire after the vessel was struck on its port side. The ship was carrying vegetable oils and is sailing to Reunion Island.
‘Deteriorating security situation’
Oil and gas giant BP became the latest company to pause transit through the area. Shipping giants MSC, Hapag-Lloyd, CMA CGM and Maersk had done so earlier, according to a CNBC report.
“In light of the deteriorating security situation for shipping in the Red Sea, BP has decided to temporarily pause all transits through the Red Sea,” the company said. “We will keep this precautionary pause under ongoing review, subject to circumstances as they evolve in the region.”
Yemen’s Houthi militias have been attacking commercial ships in the Red Sea, claiming they’re acting in solidarity with Palestinians and that all of the targets have some connection to Israel. Now, the U.S. is calling for a coalition to protect vessels.
The Suez Canal shipping route, which leads to the Red Sea, is a vital waterway for global trade, used to transport energy and other goods between Europe and Asia, and elsewhere. The route saves on time and expense by avoiding navigating around the entire Africa continent.
The Houthis have attacked vessels in the Red Sea area in protest of Israel’s offensive in Gaza, launched in response to the Hamas attacks in southern Israel on Oct. 7. They say they are attacking vessels with links to Israel and have warned against sailing toward there.
Inventor Chemical Tankers has no ties to Israel, Elgan said. A U.S. Navy destroyer responded to the ship’s distress calls by moving toward the ship, the U.S. officials said.
A British maritime authority said earlier that it had received a report of a possible explosion two nautical miles from a vessel located 30 nautical miles south of the Yemeni port of Mokha.
The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) authority said in separate advisories it had received reports of a second incident 30 nautical miles northwest of Mokha and another incident 24 nautical miles southeast of the port. No other information was given in the reports.
It was not immediately clear whether any of the reports were related to the M/V Swan Atlantic.
The Liberian-flagged MSC Palatium III was attacked on Friday with a drone in the Bab al-Mandab Strait off Yemen at the southern end of the Red Sea, according to the Houthis.
No injuries were reported, but the vessel suffered some fire damage and was taken out of service, MSC said in a statement.
Denmark’s A.P. Moller-Maersk on Friday paused all its container shipments through Bab al-Mandab until further notice, joined on Saturday by the Swiss-based MSC and the French shipping group CMA CGM.
“The situation is further deteriorating and concern for safety is increasing,” CMA CGM said in a statement.
The Bahamas-flagged Galaxy Leader, meanwhile, was seized by Houthis last month.
The Houthis said on Saturday that real steps to ease the humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip would contribute to “reducing the escalation.” They also said that they were in Oman-mediated talks about its sea “operations.”
That was the first indication that the militia group may be willing to de-escalate. The U.S. has said it is seeking an expanded coalition to protect ships in the Red Sea and to send a signal to the Houthis.