A Turkish-managed bulker underway off Yemen has had a close call with Houthi missiles twice over the past 24 hours as it sails in the Bab el-Mandeb strait and the Gulf of Aden, maritime security sources said on Monday.
The UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) classified the incident as an attack on the vessel, which other maritime sources identified later in the day as the 52,200-dwt Anadolu S (built 2014).
The first incident occurred 25 nautical miles (46 km) west of Mukha at 16:13 GMT on Sunday, when the security officer of the ship’s management company — listed by data banks as Turkey's Oras Shipping —reported that a missile splashed “in close proximity to the vessel”.
Maritime security firm Diaplous said the projectile exploded in the water about 500 metres aft.
“A few minutes earlier, the vessel received on VHF Channel 16 a warning notice from an unknown entity to alter course, without any other details or justification,” Diaplous said.
The attackers had a second stab at the Anadolu S at 09:58 GMT on Monday, when another missile splashed close to the vessel further east, 60 nautical miles southeast of Aden.
Both the UKMTO and Diaplous report that the vessel and its crew are safe and proceeding to their next port of call.
According to Diaplous, the vessel in question “does not meet the Houthis’ targeting criteria”.
This usually refers to vessels connected or trading with Israel and the Western powers backing it in its conflict with Hamas and Hezbollah.
The Joint Maritime Information Centre (JMIC), however, said later on Monday without elaborating that it found an “indirect association” between the Anadolu S and Israel.
This chimes with information released on Monday by Ambrey, according to which another Turkish-controlled vessel was threatened by the Houthis on 9 November.
The UK maritime security firm described the 9 November incident against the ship it did not identify as the “first confirmed engagement of a Turkish-owned vessel” by the Yemeni rebel group.
“Though the affected vessel had not called Israel in this period, several vessels in the owner’s fleet have appeared to call Israel since the Houthis declared a 'ban' on companies trading with Israel on 3 May 2024,” Ambrey said.
The official Turkish government is among the harshest critics of Israeli policy in the conflicts in Gaza and the Lebanon.
The Houthis keep mum
The Houthis have not claimed responsibility yet for any attack against any vessel on 17 or 18 November.
They last did so on 11 November, when they carried out multiple strikes on US warships in the Red Sea.
The USS Stockdale and USS Spruance were targeted by five anti-ship ballistic missiles, three anti-ship cruise missiles and at least eight drones.
All these projectiles were “successfully engaged and defeated”, according to a Pentagon spokesman.
The incident nevertheless highlighted the Yemeni rebels’ undiminished capacity to strike out against their perceived enemies at sea — almost to the day of the anniversary of their first attack on commercial shipping on 19 November 2023, when the 5,100-ceu Galaxy Leader (built 2002) was hijacked and its crew abducted.
Guy Platten, secretary general of the International Chamber of Shipping, said on Monday: “It seems incredible that a year has passed, and the crew of the Galaxy Leader are still being held hostage.
“Innocent seafarers and families … have had their lives irrevocably changed by geopolitical forces wholly out of their control.”
