‘Tanker War’ Returns With Reports Of Attack On Iranian Gas Shipment Near Yemen

A tanker with alleged links to Iran caught fire on October 18 in the Gulf of Aden off the coast of Yemen after being struck by a projectile, in what may have been an Israeli attack.

The attack was first reported by the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) center, which is run by the Royal Navy. The center issued an alert about the vessel, describing the incident as taking place some 210 kilometers to the east of Aden.

“A vessel has been hit by an unknown projectile, resulting with a fire,” the UKMTO said. “Authorities are investigating.”

Later, the British maritime security firm Ambrey described the vessel as a Cameroon-flagged tanker that was “en route from Sohar, Oman, to Djibouti.” It said radio traffic suggested the crew was preparing to abandon ship and a search-and-rescue effort was underway.

Ambrey noted that the tanker, identified as MV Falcon, did not belong to the category of vessels usually targeted by Yemen’s Houthis.

A Houthi official later confirmed that the group had no connection to the incident, according to the official Saba news agency.

The European Union’s naval force Aspides said the cause of the explosion was unclear. It added that 15 percent of the vessel was on fire, according to initial indications. It also said that 24 of the MV Falcon’s 26 crew members were rescued, and two were reported missing. Rescue operations were ongoing, it said.

The tanker was reportedly transporting liquefied petroleum gas, commonly used as cooking gas, at the time of the incident.

Interestingly, MV Falcon was previously identified by United Against Nuclear Iran, a New York-based pressure group, as operating allegedly in an Iranian “ghost fleet” of ships moving their oil products in the high seas despite international sanctions.

Israeli officials denied involvement in the incident, according to Hebrew media. Meanwhile, Iranian state media rejected claims that the tanker had any connection to Iran.

Despite the denial of both sides. The timing and location of the incident suggest that it was the result of an Israeli attack, likely in response to previous Houthi attacks on Israel-linked shipping near Yemen. Tehran may have avoided making accusations because it is not the owner of the tanker, as well as not committing to a response that could lead to an escalation.

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