Video footage posted by the Houthi armed forces on their website purports to show a fiery blast on a Stealth Maritime tanker.
The Yemeni militant organisation said the video showed the attack by a drone boat on the Greek shipowner’s 107,500-dwt Chios Lion (built 2010).
The footage could not be immediately authenticated, and while it clearly shows a tanker similar to the Chios Lion, its identifying information was not visible. What could be an object moving towards the ship is obscured.
Stealth Maritime, a Vafias family-controlled shipowner and manager, could not be immediately reached for comment.
TradeWinds reported on Monday that the Houthis claimed to have targeted the aframax with an unmanned boat while it was in the Red Sea.
Maritime security firm Diaplous said at the time that the ship’s armed guards fired warning shots and then shot at the attacking sea drone directly, causing it to explode “at a distance of a few metres from the port side of the vessel”.
The tanker “sustained minor damage at port side, with no casualties reported” and continued sailing after the incident, the security company said.
The Chios Lion is not currently broadcasting its location, according to tracking data from VesselsValue. Its last signal was in the Red Sea 29 hours ago. It was laden, and in place of a destination, it was broadcasting that it had a security team on board.
The Joint Maritime Information Centre (JMIC), a data-sharing initiative of several nations’ navies, said the ship was southbound at the time of the attack.
But afterwards, it turned reversed course and travelled northward to “further assess damage and investigate potential oil spillage”.
“JMIC has investigated and assesses this vessel was targeted due to other vessels within its company structure making port calls in Israel,” the centre said.
The Liberian-flag Chios Lion is insured by NorthStandard and classed by Bureau Veritas.
The Houthis also claimed to have targeted two other tankers on Monday. The 40,100-dwt Bentley I (built 2004) was in the Red Sea and the 6,400-dwt Olvia (built 2011) was in the Mediterranean.
The Olvia’s manager, Island Oil Holdings, said there was “no incident” affecting the ship.
