Photos Show Catastrophic Damage to ‘HSV Swift’ Following Missile Attack

Photo credit: Emirates News Agency

The Emirates News Agency has just released pictures showing damage to the HSV Swift after it was destroyed in an attack on Saturday.

The HSV Swift was on a humanitarian mission in the Red Sea when it was targeted by Yemen’s Houthi group in a missile attack near the Bab al-Mandab strait off Yemen, a key chokepoint for ships transiting between the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea, Gulf of Aden, and Indian Ocean via the Suez Canal.

Details of the incident are still unclear. 

The ship is owned by UAE Marine Dredging Company but was chartered by the United Arab Emirates military when the attack occurred.

The Houthis said on Saturday that their forces had destroyed a UAE military vessel with a missile that was advancing towards the Red Sea port of Al-Mokha.

Photos released Wednesday show the vessel was completely destroyed but still afloat. Meanwhile a video has been circulating online since this weekend allegedly shows clips from the attack.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WTNeEYlO3Iw

Media reports say no crew were injured in the attack.

The HSV Swift is an aluminum-hulled high-speed catamaran built in 2003 by Incat in Tasmania, Australia. The ship spent its first decade under charter by the U.S. Navy’s Military Sealift Command until 2013.

Updated: October 7, 2016 (Originally published October 5, 2016)

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