Red Sea: Houthis attack Chinese oil tanker
Iran-aligned Houthi insurgents fired five ballistic anti-ship missiles on Saturday, toward a Panamanian-flagged, Chinese-owned and operated oil tanker, the US Central Command (CENTCOM) said.
PHOTO: US Navy's guided-missile destroyer USS Carney. USS Carney's official Facebook page
The attacks caused some damage to the oil tanker, M/V Huang Pu, US CENTCOM reported.
CENTCOM also confirmed a fire incident on the ship that was extinguished shortly.
“The Houthis attacked the MV Huang despite previously stating they would not attack Chinese vessels,” CENTCOM said.
The Yemeni militia’s spokesperson Yahya Sare’e claimed the attack on social media platform X (formerly Twitter).
This new development in the Red Sea has escalated supply concerns in the global oil market and put upward pressure on Brent’s price.
“The increase in oil prices was driven by escalating geopolitical tensions, with a particular focus on sabre-rattling from the Houthi faction,” said SPI Asset Management’s managing partner Stephen Innes.
The US Navy’s guided-missile destroyer USS Carney (DDG 64) along with other coalition vessels later took down six Houthi-controlled unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) on the same day, that were launched from a Houthi-controlled area of Yemen, CENTCOM said.
“Rising concerns over tightening supply along with the persistent uncertainty in the Middle East continue to support the uptrend in speculative bets,” said two analysts from ING Bank.
By Aparupa Mazumder
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