Pentagon official: ”Israeli-Affiliated Tanker Captured off Yemen Coast”

Following a series of events on the same shipping route, a tanker related to an Israeli corporation was boarded off the coast of Yemen on Sunday, according to the maritime security organization Ambrey.

Ambrey announced that “US naval forces are engaged in the situation” following the incident with the Central Park vessel, which is owned and operated by a UK-based, Israeli-affiliated business.

Later, a US defense official said a tanker linked to an Israel-affiliated company was captured off the coast of Yemen on Sunday by unidentified armed individuals.

“There are indications that an unknown number of unidentified armed individuals seized the M/V Central Park in the Gulf of Aden Nov. 26. US and coalition forces are in the vicinity and we are closely monitoring the situation,” the official told AFP, following a series of incidents on the same shipping route.

Yemen’s Naval Forces had previously threatened to attack the tanker if it did not divert to the Hodeidah port, Ambrey said. The maritime security firm claimed that communications from a US coalition cruiser had been intercepted, instructing Central Park to disregard the signals.

The tanker was captured offshore the Yemeni port city of Aden, according to Ambrey, with another vessel in the region reporting “an approach by eight persons on two skiffs wearing military uniforms.”

This comes after an Israeli ship was targeted in the Arabian Sea (north of the Indian Ocean) on Thursday night — Friday dawn shortly before the temporary truce in Gaza came into effect, private sources told Al Mayadeen.

The sources confirmed that the ship was directly hit, and it caught fire as a result of the attack. 

The party behind the operation has not been specified.

Commenting on Al Mayadeen’s exclusive report, Roi Kayes, head of the Arab Affairs Department at the Israeli Kan channel, said no confirmation has been received from Israeli authorities about whether the incident took place or not or if “Israel” actually owns the ship.

Footage of the #Yemeni Armed Forces capturing the Israeli-owned ship, #GalaxyLeader, in the #RedSea yesterday. pic.twitter.com/AjKWido2OA

— Al Mayadeen English (@MayadeenEnglish) November 20, 2023

 

In a video statement, General Saree confirmed that the ship named Galaxy Leader was led to the Yemeni coast, emphasizing that this operation comes in support of Palestine’s West Bank and Gaza. “The operations of the armed forces threaten only the ships of the Israeli entity and those owned by Israelis,” he said.

Earlier last week, the official spokesperson for the Yemeni Armed Forces, Brigadier General Yahya Saree, announced on November 19 that the Yemeni Naval Forces carried out a military operation in the Red Sea, resulting in the capture of an Israeli ship.