Protesters hold up rifles during a rally organized by the Houthis in support of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, in Sanaa, Yemen March 22, 2024. REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah
(Bloomberg) —
The owner of the Saudi Arabian oil tanker that was reportedly struck by Houthi militants in the Red Sea said it wasn’t the target of any strike.
The Saudi-owned Amjad, which the US said was hit in an attack by the Iranian-backed rebel group on Monday, was “not targeted and sustained no injuries or damage,” according to a statement from Bahri, the owner of the ship.
The Amjad had been near another vessel that came under attack, but is fully operational and on its way to its planned destination, Bahri said.
The Houthis attacked two oil tankers — the Amjad and the Panama-flagged and Greek-operated Blue Lagoon I — the US Central Command said in a statement. The two ships were close to each other at the time of the strikes, satellite and vessel-tracking data compiled by Bloomberg show.
Houthi spokesman Yahya Saree only claimed responsibility for striking the Blue Lagoon I, in a post on social media platform X, omitting any mention of the Saudi vessel. The operation involved missiles, unmanned aerial vehicles and naval forces, he said.
Bahri declined to comment beyond the statement when asked whether the Amjad suffered any physical hit at all in a strike by the Houthis.
The Houthis have maintained that they only target ships passing through the Red Sea that are linked to Israel, the US or the UK. Any attack on a Saudi ship by the Houthis would have been the first time the militant group has hit a vessel from the kingdom in its latest campaign to menace ships in the crucial shipping corridor.
Tensions between the militants and Saudi Arabia have risen in recent weeks, after the group’s leader claimed that Riyadh was working with Israel and the US to try and prevent Houthi attacks in the Red Sea.
Sea Trade Marine, the Blue Lagoon I’s Greek operator and Saudi Arabia’s government didn’t respond to requests for comment.
© 2024 Bloomberg L.P.
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