India-bound crude oil tanker M/V Saibaba hit by Houthi drone strike in Red Sea

New Delhi: A Gabbon-flagged vessel MV Saibaba has also suffered a drone attack in the Red Sea, Indian Navy officials informed. It has 25 Indian crew members on board who are safe. It is not an Indian-flagged vessel, they clarified. 

In the Red Sea, an India-bound crude oil tanker was struck by an attack drone launched by Yemen's Houthi rebels. The M/V Saibaba, a Gabon-flagged tanker carrying Indians, reported no injuries but raised a distress call to a US ship in the region.

The US Central Command said in a statement that on December 23, two Houthi anti-ship ballistic missiles were fired into international shipping lanes in the Southern Red Sea from Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen.

The attack happened about 10:30 p.m. (IST) yesterday, only hours after another tanker was attacked off the coast of India, which the US blamed on Iran.

Two ships had reported an attack to a US naval ship patrolling in the southern Red Sea. According to the US Navy, one of them, the Norwegian-flagged and owned chemical tanker M/V Blaamanen, claimed a near miss with a Houthi drone.

According to US Navy, between 3 and 8 p.m. (Sanaa time), the USS LABOON (DDG 58) was patrolling in the Southern Red Sea as part of Operation Prosperity Guardian (OPG) and shot down four unmanned aerial drones that were inbound to the USS LABOON from Houthi-controlled areas in Yemen. This incident resulted in no injuries or property damage.

At around 8 p.m. (Sanaa time), US Naval Forces Central Command received indications that two ships in the Southern Red Sea were being attacked.

The USS LABOON (DDG 58) responded to these attacks' distress calls.

The Norwegian-flagged, owned, and operated chemical/oil tanker M/V BLAAMANEN reported a near miss with a Houthi one-way attack drone, with no injuries or damage reported.

According to the US Central Command, these are the 14th and 15th strikes on commercial vessels by Houthi terrorists since October 17.

For several weeks, Iran-aligned Houthis have disrupted global trade by attacking ships travelling through the Bab al-Mandab Strait in what they claim is retaliation for Israel's conflict in Gaza.

Concerns have been raised about the impact of the attacks on the flow of oil, grain, and other goods on what is a major global commerce route. The incidents have also pushed up the prices of insuring and shipping cargo across the Red Sea.

This is a developing story, further details are awaited.