Houthis fire cruise missile at Norwegian chemical tanker

A Norwegian-owned chemical tanker was struck by a cruise missile yesterday while passing through the Bab-el-Mandeb strait.

US Central Command identified the ship as the Strinda, reporting the ship suffered a fire onboard, but no crew were injured. The US military said the Houthis were responsible for the attack on the Norwegian-flagged ship that was heading from Singapore to Italy. Over the weekend, Ashdod port in Israel had stated on its website that the ship was due to call there.

A military spokesperson of the Houthis, Yahya Sare’e, stated that the Houthis attacked the tanker with a missile for being destined for an Israeli port. Furthermore, he stated that the Houthis warned the tanker not to proceed and “did not resort to targeting […] until its crew rejected all warning calls”. 

The ship is owned by J. Ludwig Mowinckels Rederi, and is now making for a nearby safe port to assess the damage done by the missile strike. The vessel had armed guards onboard for its passage through the Red Sea. 

Ambrey, a UK-based maritime security specialist, reported that a Chinese containership appeared to take evasive action to put distance between it and the chemical tanker around the time of the attack.

On Saturday, Yemen’s Houthi movement said they would target all ships heading to Israel, regardless of their nationality, and warned all international shipping companies against dealing with Israeli ports. 

The Houthis have attacked and seized several Israeli-linked ships in the Red Sea in recent weeks in reaction to the ongoing war in the Gaza Strip. 

The US has been discussing creating a naval convoy with allies, while also seeking out ways to limit Houthis’ access to cash.