Double Attack on Delta Blue Oil Tanker Near Yemen Leaves Crew Unharmed

The Delta Blue crude oil tanker was attacked off Yemen, with no crew casualties reported. Iran-aligned Houthi militants have targeted international shipping near Yemen since November. The attacks disrupted global trade, prompting rerouting of vessels. The ship, managed by Delta Tankers, continues to its next port of call.

In a troubling development off the coast of Yemen, the Delta Blue crude oil tanker faced a double attack, according to an advisory from the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO). The vessel's crew is reported safe.

The assaults, attributed to Iran-aligned Houthi militants, are part of a series of attacks on international shipping since November, showing solidarity with Palestinians amid the conflict between Israel and Hamas. The first attack involved two small crafts firing a rocket-propelled grenade, which exploded near the Delta Blue 45 nautical miles south of Yemen's Mokha, UKMTO reported.

Hours afterward, a missile detonated close to the tanker, yet the Liberia-flagged ship and its crew escaped unscathed and continued its voyage to the next port of call. Athens-based Delta Tankers, which manages the vessel, has not commented. These attacks have led to U.S. and British retaliatory strikes and disrupted global trade as ship owners divert routes from the Red Sea and Suez Canal to the longer path around Africa's southern tip.

(With inputs from agencies.)