More ships under fire in Red Sea strait, as Ardmore confirms attack on tanker

Ardmore Shipping Corp, owner and operator of Ardmore Encounter, reported the crew and the vessel escaped unharmed. 

"No one boarded the vessel and all crew members are safe and accounted for. The vessel remains fully operational with no loss of cargo or damage on board and is considered to be out of immediate danger," the company said.

Ardmore said the company has stayed in close contact with authorities and received military assistance during the attack. 

Ardmore Shipping chief executive Anthony Gurnee said, “We would like to thank the captain and crew of Ardmore Encounter for their calm and professional actions during the attack, as well as the armed guards on board and the naval assistance provided in defending the vessel; all acted in a rapid, co-ordinated, and highly professional manner. We also want to highlight the importance of the training and preparations taken prior to the transit, and the effective co-ordination with all authorities.” 

The UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) incident report said the 2014-built, 49,500-dwt chemical tanker took fire from three armed individuals in a small boat some 50 nautical miles (nm) to the west of the Yemeni port of Hodeidah before seeing an explosion 200 m from the vessel.

"The small boat approached a merchant vessel to within 0.5 nm. The embarked armed security team fired warning shots, there was an exchange of small arms fire and the small boat departed the area. The reporting vessel was then hailed by an entity declaring itself as the Yemeni authorities, directing the vessel to alter course to Yemen. The reporting vessel then sighted an explosion 200 m astern," the UKMTO report said.

Another UKMTO report, from 14 December, said authorities are investigating reports of multiple incidents in the vicinity of the Bab El-Mandeb Strait that links the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden between Yemen on the East and Eritrea and Djibouti on the West.

US independent news agency the Associated Press cited an unnamed US defense department official in a near-miss incident with the Maersk container ship Maersk Gibraltar. The official said a missile landed in the water near the vessel, and the Associated Press report linked the attack with a UKMTO incident report that said an unnamed vessel witnessed an explosion 50 m from its port side. 

The Strait has been the site of an increasing number of attacks against commercial shipping targets as Yemen’s Houthi rebel militia, the Iran-supplied Yemeni Armed Forces, have begun to target vessels. Beginning with attacks on vessels with Israeli ties, the group’s spokesperson has said the attacks come in reprisal for Israel’s bombing of the Palestinian territory of Gaza in the wake of attacks on Israelis by Iran-backed Hamas. The attack on Ardmore Encounter came shortly after the Houthis expanded their threat to all ships heading to Israel and claimed responsibility for a missile strike on J Ludwig Mowinckels Rederi’s Norway-flagged tanker Strinda in the Red Sea.

In a circular titled The Gaza Conflict, the International Union of Marine Insurance called the attacks on vessels "a significant new twist" in the conflict. 

"Houthis seized Galaxy Leader on 19 November using an Mi-17 helicopter to insert an assault team of eight men carrying AK-type rifles. That was a game changer and will require a ship security rethink. It was not in any security procedures manual for commercial vessels. Even if the vessel had an armed team aboard, the dispositions they would have to make in a very short time would not guarantee a successful defence. Worse, having demonstrated their capability, the Houthis also deemed anyone they considered a supporter of Israel to be a legitimate target. Trading and underwriting in the area have entered another phase of risk and uncertainty where political motives clash with commercial operations," the insurance circular said.