- Yemen’s Houthi rebels fired two missiles at a cargo ship on March 8 but missed their target.
- The Houthis use open-source data that may be outdated, which could have caused vessels with no Israeli or US connections to be attacked.
Houthi rebels have apparently fired at a Singaporean-owned bulk carrier after mistaking it for a US ship, reports Container News.
The 2012-built Singapore-flagged Supramax vessel was hit by two anti-ballistic ship missiles around 3.55pm Yemen time on 8 March, but avoided being hit.
Houthi rebels attack bulk carrier
The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore told local media that the ship and its 26 crew members escaped without any damage or injuries. Vessel-tracking data shows that the vessel left Dhamra, India, on 25 February, and is heading towards the Arabian Sea.
The attack mirrors that of True Confidence, a Supramax bulk carrier that was also owned by Oaktree, before being sold to Greece-based Third January Maritime in February.
Houthi spokesperson Yahya Sarea admitted to the attack in a speech broadcast on the Houthi-run al-Masirah TV on 9 March, saying the armed group’s navy executed two operations.
Yahya said, “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.”
While the Houthis have claimed they are targeting Israel-linked ships, unconnected vessels have also been hit.
Martin Kelly, senior Middle East analyst at EOS Risk Group, a maritime security practice, told the Financial Times that in targeting ships, the Houthis use open-source data that may be outdated, which could have caused vessels with no Israeli or US connections to be attacked.
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Source: Container News
