The US military announced Monday morning that its naval destroyer rescued a tanker, Central Park, in the middle of the sea last night, hours after it was reported that an " unidentified force" took control of it in the Gulf of Aden, off the coast of Yemen.
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The U.S. Navy warship responded to the distress call from the commercial tanker carrying a cargo of phosphoric acid that said that it been seized by armed individuals. The vessel is now safe. The attackers were not identified.
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The Central Park tanker which, according to reports, unidentified persons boarded off the coast of Yemen
In a statement, the U.S. military said the USS Mason, with help from allied ships, demanded that the commercial ship be released by the attackers.
Five armed individuals tried to escape on a fast boat but were chased by the U.S. warship and they eventually surrendered.
Two ballistic missiles were fired from Houthi-controlled parts of Yemen toward the general direction of the Mason and Central Park, but they landed about 10 nautical miles away from them and there was no damage or injuries.
The incident is the latest in a series of attacks in Middle Eastern waters since October 7 and the war between Israel and Hamas.
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The USS Mason destroyer came to the tanker's rescue in the Gulf of Aden
(Photo: AP / Blake Midnight / U.S. Navy)
It followed a seizure of an Israeli-linked cargo ship by Yemen Houthis, allies of Iran, in the southern Red Sea last week. The group, which also fired ballistic missiles and armed drones at Israel, vowed to target more Israeli vessels.
Central Park, a small chemical tanker (19,998 metric tons), is managed by Zodiac Maritime Ltd, a London-headquartered international ship management company owned by Israeli billionaire Eyal Ofer. The Liberian-flagged vessel was built in 2015 and is owned by Clumvez Shipping Inc, LSEG data showed.
Zodiac Maritime said in a statement that Central Park, which is carrying a full cargo of phosphoric acid, was involved in a suspected piracy incident while crossing international waters, approximately 54 nautical miles off the coast of Somalia. Phosphoric acid is mostly used for fertilizers.
"Our priority is the safety of our 22 crew onboard. The Turkish captained vessel has a multinational crew consisting of a crew of Russian, Vietnamese, Bulgarian, Indian, Georgian and Filipino nationals," the statement added.
There was no immediate comment from officials representing the Iran-backed Houthis, who in recent weeks have threatened to attack any ship that is connected in one way or another to Israel.
The U.S. has blamed Iran for unclaimed attacks on several vessels in the region in the past few years. Tehran has denied involvement.
A container ship managed by an Israeli-controlled company was hit by a suspected Iranian drone in the Indian Ocean, causing minor damage to the vessel but no injuries, a U.S. defense official said on Saturday. A week ago, the Houthis hijacked a cargo ship in the area which they defined as "Israeli." According to Israel, this ship belongs to a British company and is operated by a Japanese company.