Ship catches fire after attack off Yemen: UK agency

Agencies | Dubai, United Arab Emirates

The Daily Tribune - www.newsofbahrain.com   

Three projectiles hit a merchant vessel off Yemen’s rebel-held port city of Hodeida on Wednesday, causing a fire onboard and leaving the ship without engine power, a British maritime security agency said.

The ship initially exchanged fire with two small vessels, one with three to five people onboard while the second carried around 10, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said.

The ship was later “struck by two unidentified projectiles before being hit by a third,” the agency, which is run by Britain’s Royal Navy, said.

“There is a fire onboard and the vessel has lost engine power,” it said, adding that there were no reports of casualties. “The vessel is drifting and not under command,” UKMTO said.

A spokesperson for the Greek port authority identified the vessel as the Greek-flagged Sounion, an oil products tanker owned by Delta Tankers, a Greek shipping company.

The ship, which carried a crew of 25 people, mostly Filipinos, departed from Iraq and was destined for a port near Athens where many refineries are based, the Greek port authority said.

No injuries have been reported so far, according to the port authority, which said the ship could have been hit either by missiles or drones. In a separate incident south of the Yemeni port city of Aden on Wednesday, another ship reported two explosions in the water in close proximity, UKMTO said.

The crew are reported safe and vessel is proceeding to the next port of call, the agency added.