US military detains pirates who attacked tanker off coast of Yemen

A US Navy vessel responded to a distress call Sunday from an Israeli-linked tanker off the coast of Yemen on Sunday and was later fired upon, Fox News has learned, Report informs.

US Navy personnel from the USS Mason, a Mayport-based Arleigh Burke class destroyer assigned to the Eastern Mediterranean, responded to the distress call from the Liberian-flagged Central Park, carrying a cargo of phosphoric acid in the Gulf of Aden.

The vessel is managed by Zodiac Maritime, a London-based international ship management company owned by Israeli billionaire Eyal Ofer's Zodiac Group.

A Zodiac spokesperson told Fox News Digital that the vessel issued a distress call around 6 a.m. UTC Sunday morning, stating it was under attack by suspected pirates while transiting the International Recommended Transit Corridor (IRTV) some 54 nautical miles off the coast of Somalia.

Sources told Fox that five armed gunmen seized the tanker after boarding from a skiff by pulling up alongside the tanker. The crew locked themselves in the Citadel.

The gunmen tried to beat down the door to the safe room before exiting the ship and making their way back to the shores of Yemen.

US Navy personnel pursued the subjects, firing warning shots as a U.S. helicopter gunship flew overhead. A Japanese destroyer assisted the USS Mason with the interdiction. The subjects were arrested and are now being questioned by the U.S. military under counter-piracy authorities.

Two senior US officials told Fox News Digital that Houthi forces fired two ballistic missiles at the USS Mason following the arrest. The USS Mason tracked the ballistic missiles as they approached, but both missiles fell short, splashing in the Gulf of Aden.

Zodiac said the vessel carrying phosphoric acid and its crew of 22 sailors from Bulgaria, Georgia, India, the Philippines, Russia, Türkiye, and Vietnam "is safe and all of the crew, the vessel, and the cargo are unharmed."