Turkish owner Ince Shipping has confirmed that a bulker damaged by an explosion off Yemen was hit by a missile.
The Deniz Haber website published a statement by the company saying the 52,000-dwt Ince Inedolu (built 2002) had been bringing in 50,000 tonnes of Russian wheat from Novorrossiyk to Saleef when it was hit on 10 May, 70 miles offshore.
A missile entered a tank from the side and exploded inside, it said.
Pictures showed a large hole in the hull above the waterline.
Ince added that Saudi naval forces boarded the ship and directed it to proceed to Jizan in Saudi Arabia.
The company was authorised to make a statement by Saudi forces, confirming no injuries.
There is still no confirmation of who fired the missile.
The cargo was undamaged, but Ince has reportedly said it was unsure when the grain can now be delivered, and it needs to unloaded before the ship can be taken for repairs.
The wheat was supplied by Dubai-based trader Phoenix Commodities, according to sources cited by Bloomberg.
Yemen’s Fahem Group is the buyer of the Russian cargo, Ince said.
A Saudi-led coalition is fighting Houthi rebels in Yemen, which was the seventh-biggest buyer of Russian wheat in February, according to the Moscow-based National Association of Exporters of Agriculture Products.
In March, a Bahri VLCC suffered minor damage in a missile attack by Houthis off Yemen.
