Houthis Fired Missile at Chinese-Owned Ship in Red Sea, US Says

By Yi Wei Wong

Mar 23, 2024(Bloomberg) –Yemen-based Houthis fired a missile at a Chinese-owned oil tanker called M/V Huang Pu on Saturday, the US Central Command said. 

The Iranian-backed Houthis first fired four missiles in the vicinity of the oil tanker, US Central Command said in a post on X, the social media site formerly known as Twitter. They then fired a fifth missile toward the ship, which issued a distress call but didn’t request assistance, Centcom said. 

The vessel suffered minimal damage and a fire on board was extinguished within 30 minutes. No casualties were reported. 

US later engaged six Houthi unmanned drones over the southern Red Sea. Five crashed into the Red Sea, and one flew inland into Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen. 

Related Article: Houthis Agree to Give China and Russia Ships a Pass in Red Sea

The attack on the Huang Pu comes even after the Houthis previously said they wouldn’t attack vessels from China. 

© 2024 Bloomberg L.P.

Subscribe for Daily Maritime Insights

Sign up for gCaptain’s newsletter and never miss an update

— trusted by our 109,085 members