Yemen’s Houthi rebels have confirmed a missile attack against a J Ludwig Mowinckels tanker, claiming the ship had ignored their warnings to change course.
“The Yemeni Armed Forces… did not resort to targeting the Norwegian ship … until crew refused to respond to warning,” the group’s spokesman, Brigadier General Yahya Saree, said in a tweet on Tuesday.
On the night before, the 20,000-dwt Strinda (built 2006) came under attack in the southern Red Sea about 15 nautical miles (28 km) west of Mokha in Yemen.
A fire broke out on board but it was extinguished by the Indian crew, who remained unharmed and continued their course towards an undisclosed “safe port”, as TradeWinds already reported.
Saree said the attack was the first under a new policy announced by the Houthis on Saturday, to attack ships of any nationality off the Yemen coast if they are believed to be heading towards Israel.
The rebels, who control large swathes of Yemen, had so far been targeting or hijacking only ships they believed to be controlled by Israeli interests.
Saree claimed that many ships have already heeded Houthi warnings over the past 48 hours and changed course.
“The Yemeni Armed Forces succeeded during the past two days in preventing the passage of several ships that responded to the warnings,” he said on X.
In a statement earlier on Tuesday, J Ludwig Mowinckels Rederi did not mention having received any warnings to change course.
According to the information provided by the Bergen-based company, however, the ship was not heading to Israel at all but was en route to Italy from Malaysia with a feedstock of biofuel.
The Signal Ocean data platform shows the Strinda as underway from Panjang in Indonesia to Malta with a load of palm oil.
The incident confirms that all shipping, regardless of flag or nationality, is subject to attack in the Red Sea if the Houthis believe it to be calling at Israeli ports.
The rebels’ move is meant to pressure Israel and the international community to provide effective humanitarian assistance to Gaza, a Palestinian territory under fierce Israeli attacks.
“The Yemeni armed forces confirm that they continue to prevent all ships of all nationalities heading to Israeli ports from navigating in the Arab and Red Seas until they bring in the food and medicine that our steadfast brothers in the Gaza Strip need,” Saree reiterated on Tuesday.
“The Yemeni armed forces will not hesitate to target any ship that violates what was stated in the previous statements.”
