Houthis Fire Ballistic Missiles At US Destroyer After Failed Merchant Ship Hijacking
Houthi militants in Yemen fired two ballistic missiles on 27 November at a U.S. Navy guided missile destroyer that intervened in an attempted hijacking of a chemical tanker in the Gulf of Aden the day before, but the missiles missed their target.
In a statement, United States Central Command said that at 0141 on 27 November, Sanaa time, two ballistic missiles were fired from Houthi controlled areas in Yemen toward the general location of the USS Mason (DDG 87) and M/V Central Park, after the Mason detained five armed individuals that had attempted to hijack the latter.
According to Central Command, the missiles landed in the Gulf of Aden approximately ten nautical miles from the ships, with no damage or reported injuries from either vessel during the incident.
At the time, the USS Mason was “concluding its response” to the Central Park’s distress call on October 26, when it reported that it was under attack by an unknown entity. Upon arrival at the scene, the USS Mason and allied ships under Task Force 151 demanded release of the vessel. “Subsequently, five armed individuals debarked the ship and attempted to flee via their small boat. The Mason pursued the attackers resulting in their eventual surrender.”
On Monday, Pentagon Press Secretary Pat Ryder said that the Department of Defense’s initial assessment was that the five detained were Somali nationals, with piracy as the apparent motivation for the hijacking.
The incidents follow the Houthi hijacking of the Galaxy Leader car carrier on November 19. The Galaxy Leader is owned by a Tel Aviv-based shipping company, but no Israelis were on board when it was hijacked by helicopter-borne forces. Following the hijacking, the Iranian-backed Houthis have threatened additional hijacks of what they consider to be Israeli-linked merchant ships, and have further threatened to attack any military ships escorting them.
While Central Park managers Zodiac Shipping told the Associated Press that the tanker is owned by Clumvez Shipping Inc., corporate documents viewed by the news agency show that two of Clumvez’ directors are linked to Israeli billionaire Eyal Ofer’s Zodiac Group.
The attempted ballistic missile attack on the USS Mason is the latest in a series of increasingly aggressive actions carried out by the Houthis since the start of the Israel-Hamas war last month. The Houthis have used Iranian-supplied drones, cruise missiles and ballistic missiles in attempted attacks on southern Israel, with the USS Hudner shooting down “several” Houthi drones in the Red Sea on November 23 and earlier USS Carney intercepting three missiles and several drones in October.