further attacks on ships took place in the Red Sea and off the coast of India

These events follow a series of drone and missile attacks carried out in recent weeks in the Red Sea by Yemen’s Houthi rebels, supported by Iran, against the backdrop of war between Israel and Hamas.

A chemical tanker was hit on Saturday, December 23, off the coast of India by a “attack drone fired from Iran”while two oil tankers and a US destroyer sailing in the Red Sea were also targeted by drones launched by Houthi rebels in Yemen, according to the US military. The attack on the chemical tanker occurred on Saturday at 10 a.m. (7 a.m. in Paris). It caused a fire on board, which was extinguished, and caused no injuries, the US Department of Defense reported.

THE MV Chem Pluto sails under the flag of Liberia, belongs to a Japanese company, and is operated by a Dutch company, the Pentagon said. According to the maritime security firm Ambrey, the ship “is affiliated with Israel” and sails between Saudi Arabia and India, the Wall Street Journal affirming for its part that the Dutch company “is linked to Israeli shipping magnate Idan Ofer”. The Indian Navy said it had dispatched an aircraft and a warship to assist the MV Chem Pluto.

Numerous attacks in recent weeks

On Saturday, a Gabonese tanker flying the Indian flag, the MV Saibaba, launched a distress call after being hit in the Red Sea by a drone fired from areas controlled by the Houthis in Yemen, the US Central Command said, adding that there were no injuries. Another tanker, the MV Blaamanen, flying the Norwegian flag, was also targeted by a Houthi drone, which missed its target, Centcom added. According to the latter, these are the 14th and 15th attacks on commercial ships by Yemeni rebels in the Red Sea since October 17. For his part, the USS Laboonan American destroyer patrolling the Red Sea, shot down four other Houthi attack drones targeting it on Saturday, according to Centcom.

These events follow a series of attacks carried out in recent weeks in the Red Sea by Yemen’s Houthi rebels, supported by Iran, against a backdrop of war between Israel and Palestinian Hamas in the Gaza Strip. In November, an Israeli cargo ship was damaged in the Indian Ocean by a drone attack, for which Washington also blamed Iran. The Houthis, who control entire swaths of Yemeni territory including the capital, Sanaa, repeat that they will continue their attacks as long as food and medicine do not return in sufficient quantities to the Gaza Strip, which is besieged and bombarded by Israel.