The vessel is currently safe, according to U.S. officials, who claimed on Sunday that a U.S. Navy cruiser reacted to a distress call from a commercial tanker in the Gulf of Aden that had been taken over by armed persons.
The Central Park was identified by the ship’s company as the tanker that had been transporting phosphoric acid. The attackers were not identified by the authorities.
According to a statement from the U.S. military, the USS Mason asked that the attackers release the commercial ship with assistance from other ships.
After being pursued by the American destroyer, the five armed men who had attempted to flee on a swift boat eventually turned themselves in.
Two ballistic missiles were fired from Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen towards the Mason and Central Park, the statement continued, but they landed roughly 10 nautical miles away from them with no damage or casualties reported.
Since a bloody conflict between Israel and the militant Palestinian organisation Hamas began on October 7, there have been numerous strikes in Middle Eastern seas. This one is the most recent.
It came after Iran’s allied Yemeni Houthis seized a cargo ship with ties to Israel last week in the southern Red Sea. The organisation threatened to target more Israeli boats after firing ballistic missiles and armed drones against Israel.
Zodiac Maritime Ltd, an international ship management business based in London and controlled by the Ofer family in Israel, is in charge of overseeing Central Park, a light chemical tanker with a displacement of 19,998 metric tonnes. According to LSEG records, the vessel flying the Liberian flag was constructed in 2015 and is owned by Clumvez Shipping Inc.
Central Park, which is transporting phosphoric acid in its entirety, was allegedly involved in a suspected piracy incident while traversing international waters around 54 nautical miles off the coast of Somalia, according to a statement released by Zodiac Maritime.
Most commonly, phosphoric acid is employed as a fertiliser.
For the previous few years, the United States has held Iran accountable for unreported attacks on multiple vessels in the area. Tehran has refuted any connection.
A U.S. defence official said on Saturday that a suspected Iranian drone struck a cargo ship operated by an Israeli-controlled firm in the Indian Ocean, resulting in minor damage to the ship but no injuries.
On October 7, armed Hamas terrorists stormed into Israel, murdering 1,200 people. According to Palestinian health authorities, since then, Israel has dropped bombs on Gaza, killing around 14,000 Palestinians, about 40% of whom were youngsters.
Following the second release of hostages held by Hamas, which came about after an earlier delay due to a disagreement over assistance delivery into Gaza, thirteen Israelis and four Thai nationals landed in Israel early on Sunday.
(with agency inputs)
Via Firstpost World Latest News https://ift.tt/Jso5T2E
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