Houthi rebels launched multiple ballistic missiles at a tanker owned by a Hong Kong-based holding company, the US military has reported.
Iranian-backed Houthi militants launched five anti-ship ballistic missiles into the Red Sea near the commercial vessel Huang Pu, a Panamanian-flagged, Chinese-owned and operated crude oil tanker on Sunday, the US Central Command announced. This was in spite of a safe-passage agreement between the governments of China and Yemen.
When the fifth ballistic missile was launched toward the Huang Pu the vessel issued a distress call but did not request assistance. The last missile caused minor damage and a fire broke out on board, which the crew doused in 30 minutes. No injuries were reported and the vessel continued on its journey.
According to the US military, the Houthis had previously said they would not attack Chinese vessels.
The Huang Pu was named the Anavatos II until January 2024, and its former owner manager held a United Kingdom address. It has been widely reported that Houthi rebels used this outdated information and mistakenly identified the vessel as a UK-owned ship.
However, Huang Pu is now owned and operated by a new holding company in Hong Kong, Hera Gam Ltd, according to its Equasis record.
The Houthi group's military spokesman, Yahya Saree, has not yet released a statement regarding the Huang Pu attack.
