The U.S. military prevented a tanker from being seized in the Gulf of Aden, off the coast of Yemen, according to U.S. Central Command.
The USS Mason received a distress call from the Liberian-flagged Central Park tanker on Sunday. The distress signal informed U.S. and allies ships that they were under attack by an unknown entity. When the U.S. and allies arrived at the scene, they demanded the attackers release the vessel, which they did, and the perpetrators tried to flee but were ultimately apprehended.
"Upon arrival, coalition elements demanded release of the vessel," CENTCOM said in a statement. "Subsequently, five armed individuals debarked the ship and attempted to flee via their small boat. The MASON pursued the attackers resulting in their eventual surrender. The crew of the M/V CENTRAL PARK is currently safe."
The Zodiac Maritime ship management company, which is one part of Israeli billionaire Eyal Ofer’s Zodiac Group, described the attack on the Liberian-flagged Central Park tanker as “a suspected piracy incident,” according to the Associated Press.
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It’s not clear yet who is responsible for hijacking the vessel.
“Our priority is the safety of our 22 crew onboard,” Zodiac said in a statement. “The Turkish-captained vessel has a multinational crew consisting of a crew of Russian, Vietnamese, Bulgarian, Indian, Georgian and Filipino nationals. The vessel is carrying a full cargo of phosphoric acid.”
As the situation concluded, two ballistic missiles were fired in the direction of the USS Mason, though there was no damage or reported injuries, from Houthi controlled areas in Yemen. The strikes landed about ten nautical miles from the ships, CENTCOM said.
The incident comes days after a container ship, CMA CGM Symi, owned by another Israeli billionaire, came under attack by a suspected Iranian drone in the Indian Ocean.
The Houthis, which are largely Yemeni rebels who have Iranian support, have shot down a United States drone, flown a drone in the direction of U.S. forces, fired missiles believed to be heading to Israel in the last couple of weeks, and seized an Israeli-linked vessel in the Red Sea.
Last week, Houthi forces seized an Israel-connected vessel, taking the crew, about twenty-five people, hostage, while threatening to do it again in light of Israel's war against Hamas in Gaza.
The Biden administration, following the hijacking of the Bahamas-flagged carrier Galaxy Leader, which is owned by Ray Car Carriers, said it would reconsider designating the Houthis a terrorist organization.
"In light of that recent targeting of civilians by the Houthis, recent targeting of civilians by the Houthis, and now the piracy of a ship in international waters, we have begun a review of potential terrorist designations and we'll be considering other options together with our allies and partners as well," National Security Council coordinator John Kirby said.
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U.S. navy carriers in the Middle East have intercepted missiles or drones from Yemen, presumably from the Houthis in particular, that officials suspected were targeting Israel or posing a threat to the U.S. forces twice in the last month. The USS Carney intercepted three cruise missiles and several drones in an incident last month, while last week, the USS Thomas Hudner shot down a drone that was flying toward it at the time.
The Houthis shot down a U.S. MQ-9 reaper drone over the Red Sea earlier this month, and the military did not try to recover.