Houthis attack Transworld Navigator, again

Footage has emerged purporting to show a maritime drone hitting the Transworld Navigator, a 178,000 dwt bulk carrier which was transiting the Bab al-Mandeb strait, the fourth time the vessel has been targeted, according to Seatrade Maritme News.

Details of the latest attack are disputed, Houthis claim this was the second attack on the vessel, which was hit by a maritime drone. Unverified footage of a drone attacking a ship has emerged on social media. The crew of the Greek-owned ship say there have been no injuries in the attacks.

A second vessel, the 37,600 dwt product tanker Stolt Sequoia, was also said to have been hit by cruise missiles according to Houthi military commander Yahya Saree.

Both ships were said to have been attacked in the last 24 hours, with the Stolt vessel hit while in the Indian Ocean, and the bulker targeted in the Red Sea.

US Central Command claimed in a social media post that the bulk carriers had been targeted by unmanned aerial system at 4.00am local time yesterday.

 “This marks the fourth attack by Iranian-backed Houthis on the Transworld Navigator. US Centcom confirmed that, the crew reported minor injuries and moderate damage to the ship, but the vessel has continued underway.

According to defence specialists Ambrey, the Houthis first successfully used a Remote Controlled-Water Borne Improvised Explosive Device on the June 12, when another Liberia-flagged bulk carrier, the 82,400 dwt Tutor, was impacted off Yemen’s Red Sea coast, near Hodeida.

The impact of the maritime drone caused the engine room to flood. Three hours thereafter, the vessel was targeted with a missile. One crewmember was reportedly killed following the attack, making this the second incident with crew fatality.

The crew was evacuated by military forces and the ship left not under control, and subsequently reported as sunk six days after the attack when an oil slick was spotted near Tutor's last known location.

The maritime drone was described as a 5-7 meter long white-hulled boat manned with two dummies.

Houthis movement press also claim to have forced the US to withdraw its carrier, the Dwight D. Eisenhower, following missiles targeting the vessel.

US Centcom said that the Dwight D. Eisenhower Carrier Strike Group had ended its seven-month tour of duty and will be replaced by the Theodore Roosevelt carrier group.

Houthis have frequently exaggerated the damage caused by their attacks on shipping in the region, though their effectiveness has increased in recent weeks.

 

 

US Centcom alleges Iranian made drone hit tanker off Oman

An attack on a tanker off the coast of Oman on Tuesday was carried out by an Iranian-made drone, US Central Command said in a statement, adding that a multilateral maritime operation led by a British Royal Navy frigate had responded to the area.

An Israeli official had blamed Iran for the strike on the Pacific Zircon tanker managed by Israeli-controlled Eastern Pacific Shipping. The company said there was minor damage to the hull but no injuries or spillage of the gas oil cargo.

A White House official earlier said the United States was confident that Iran likely conducted the hit using an unmanned aerial vehicle. Iran's Nournews, which is affiliated with the country's top security body, blamed Israel for the attack.

US Central Command said in a statement late on Wednesday that debris reveals that it was a Shahed-series one-way attack drone that hit the vessel, identifying it as Iranian-made.

This unmanned aerial vehicle attack against a civilian vessel in this critical maritime strait demonstrates, once again, the destabilizing nature of Iranian malign activity in the region," the Central Command statement said.

It said a multilateral operation responded to the scene led by the British Royal Navy's HMS Lancaster. US Navy guided-missile destroyer USS The Sullivans and a US Navy patrol coastal ship and patrol craft were involved in the operation.

Attacks on tankers in Gulf waters in recent years have come at times of heightened regional tensions with Iran.

In July 2021, a suspected drone attack off Oman's coast hit a petroleum product tanker managed by an Israeli firm. Iran denied the accusations that it was responsible.