Tanker in Middle East safe from attackers after US Navy responds, officials say

A US Navy warship responded to a distress call from a commercial tanker in the Gulf of Aden that had been seized by armed individuals, and the vessel is now safe, US officials said on Sunday, Report informs via Reuters.

The tanker, which had been carrying a cargo of phosphoric acid, was identified as Central Park by the vessel's company. The officials did not identify the attackers.

In a statement, the US military said the USS Mason, with help from allied ships, demanded that the commercial ship be released by the attackers.

Five armed individuals tried to escape on a fast boat but were chased by the US warship, and they eventually surrendered.

The statement added that two ballistic missiles were fired from Houthi-controlled parts of Yemen towards the general direction of Mason and Central Park, but they landed about 10 nautical miles away from them, and there was no damage or injuries.

The incident is the latest in a series of attacks in Middle Eastern waters since a brutal war between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas broke out on Oct. 7.

It followed a seizure of an Israeli-linked cargo ship by Yemen Houthis, allies of Iran, in the southern Red Sea last week. The group, which also fired ballistic missiles and armed drones at Israel, vowed to target more Israeli vessels.

Central Park, a small chemical tanker (19,998 metric tons), is managed by Zodiac Maritime Ltd, a London-headquartered international ship management company owned by Israel's Ofer family. The Liberian-flagged vessel was built in 2015 and is owned by Clumvez Shipping Inc, LSEG data showed.

Zodiac Maritime said in a statement that Central Park, which is carrying a full cargo of phosphoric acid, was involved in a suspected piracy incident while crossing international waters, approximately 54 nautical miles off the coast of Somalia.

Phosphoric acid is mostly used for fertilisers.

"Our priority is the safety of our 22 crew members onboard. The Turkish-captained vessel has a multinational crew consisting of a crew of Russian, Vietnamese, Bulgarian, Indian, Georgian, and Filipino nationals," the statement added.