Fire and Explosion Onboard LPG Tanker in Gulf of Aden Leaves Two Missing

The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) has reported a vessel attack approximately 116 nautical miles east of Aden, Yemen, in which an unknown projectile struck the vessel and caused a fire.

UKMTO is still unable to confirm the source of the explosion, and authorities cannot rule out an onboard accident.

The vessel involved is the Cameroon-flagged LPG tanker Falcon, which transmitted a distress alert reporting fire and explosion. Authorities are investigating the incident, and vessels have been advised to transit with caution and report any suspicious activity to UKMTO.

If confirmed as a Houthi attack, the incident would mark the first since the Minervagracht was struck in the Gulf of Aden on September 29 and the first Houthi attack since the U.S.-brokered Israel-Hamas agreement on the release of hostages.

According to EUNAVFOR Operation Aspides, the LPG Tanker FALCON remains on fire and adrift, with search and rescue operations ongoing. MV MEDA, with 24 crewmembers (1 Ukrainian and 23 Indians) rescued, is heading towards the port of Djibouti, escorted by the Hellenic Frigate HS SPETSAI. Two crew members (Indians) of FALCON are still reported missing.

Martin Kelly, Head of Advisory at EOS Risk Group, raised the possibility of either a Houthi misidentification or Israeli sabotage. He said analysis of the Falcon indicates the vessel is part of what the United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI) organization calls the “Ghost Armada,” which identifies illicit maritime trade involving Iran. “FALCON is probably carrying Iranian cargo,” according to Kelly.

TankerTrackers concurs with Kelly’s analysis. “The LPG tanker FALCON (9014432), which caught fire today in the Gulf of Aden, was laden with Iranian LPG from Assaluyeh after loading there on 2025-09-25. She was most likely heading to Ras Isa, Yemen; to supply the Houthis. This vessel was detained in January 2025 in Istanbul for 13 deficiencies. The Indian-owned, Cameroon-flagged tanker is 31 years old and 25/26 crew are accounted for. One person is still missing. No known insurer and she isn’t blacklisted by any government.”

Since November 2023, the Iranian-backed Houthis have carried out over 100 attacks on shipping in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden in solidarity with Palestinians during the two-year war between Israel and Hamas.

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