Burning ship loaded with gas abandoned in Gulf of Aden off Yemen; 1 sailor missing

DUBAI — A Cameroonian-flagged ship caught fire Saturday in the Gulf of Aden off Yemen after possibly being struck by a projectile, officials said, with at least one sailor missing and another still probably aboard the burning tanker after the rest of the crew abandoned the vessel.

U.K. and European Union officials offered differing opinions about what sparked the blaze on the Falcon, with the British suggesting a projectile hit it, while the EU said that it appeared to be an accident. They warned ships in the area that the vessel could explode because it was “fully loaded” with liquefied petroleum gas.

The incident comes as Yemen’s Houthi rebels have been attacking ships through the Red Sea corridor. The rebels, however, didn’t immediately claim to have been involved, though in past attacks they have taken hours or days to do so.

The British military’s United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations, or UKMTO, center issued an alert about the Falcon, describing the incident as taking place about 130 miles east of Aden, Yemen.

“A vessel has been hit by an unknown projectile, resulting with a fire,” the UKMTO said. “Authorities are investigating.”

The EU’s Operation Aspides, which has been patrolling the area, said that the Falcon’s crew of 26 was all Indian except for one Ukrainian. The Greek frigate HS Spetsai was near the Falcon, while the French also sent an aircraft overhead, the EU operation said.

“Initial indications suggest that 15% of the ship is on fire and the fire was caused by an accident,” the EU naval force said, without elaborating.

The Falcon previously had been identified by United Against Nuclear Iran, a New York-based pressure group, as operating allegedly in an Iranian “ghost fleet” of ships moving their oil products in the high seas despite international sanctions. The ship’s owners and operators, listed as being in India, couldn’t be immediately reached for comment.

The Israeli military said that it was aware of the strike on the ship but that it didn’t carry out any operation in the area.

The Houthis have gained international prominence during the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip over their attacks on shipping and Israel, which they said were aimed at forcing Israel to stop fighting. Since the ceasefire in Gaza began Oct. 10, no attacks have been claimed by the rebel group.

The Houthi campaign against shipping has killed at least nine mariners and seen four ships sunk. It upended shipping in the Red Sea, through which about $1 trillion of goods passed each year before the war. The rebels’ most recent attack hit the Dutch-flagged cargo ship Minervagracht on Sept. 29, killing one crew member and wounding another.

Meanwhile, the Houthis have increasingly threatened Saudi Arabia and taken dozens of workers at U.N. agencies and other aid groups as prisoners, alleging without evidence they were spies — something fiercely denied by the world body and others.

Gambrell writes for the Associated Press.