UK and allies ‘reserve right to respond appropriately’ after Yemen Houthis target British oil tanker

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Britain and its allies “reserve the right to respond appropriately” after a missile strike claimed by Houthi rebels on an oil tanker within the Gulf of Aden, the federal government has mentioned.

The Marlin Luanda was despatched up in flames after an assault off the coast of Yemen on Friday, days after the most recent spherical of US-UK army motion towards the Iran-backed group. No casualties have but been reported.

Military ships have been en route to help on Friday as multinational agency Trafigura mentioned the security of crew on the vessel, which is operated on its behalf, is its “foremost priority”.

A authorities spokesperson mentioned: “We have been clear that any attacks on commercial shipping are completely unacceptable and that the UK and our allies reserve the right to respond appropriately.”

It comes after an earlier incident during which two missiles have been reported to have exploded within the water and “vessel and crew are safe and no damage reported”.

Yemen’s Houthis claimed their naval forces carried out an operation within the Gulf of Aden concentrating on a vessel, which it described as a British oil tanker. They used “a number of appropriate naval missiles, the strike was direct,” the Houthi army spokesperson Yahya Sarea mentioned in an announcement.

However, transport knowledge exhibits the Marlin Luanda sails underneath the flag of the Marshall Islands.

The Houthis have repeatedly launched assaults on vessels within the Red Sea since November over Israel’s battle on Hamas within the Gaza Strip, although they’ve steadily focused vessels with tenuous or no clear hyperlinks to Israel, endangering transport on a key route for international commerce.

Alongside quite a few airstrikes on Houthi targets, the UK and US are additionally issuing sanctions towards key figures within the militant group.

A second sequence of UK and US airstrikes, carried out at first of the week, seems to have performed little to deter Houthi motion.

A Trafigura spokesperson mentioned in an announcement: “Earlier on 26 January, the Marlin Luanda, a petroleum products tanker vessel operated on behalf of Trafigura, was struck by a missile as it transited the Red Sea.

“Firefighting equipment on board is being deployed to suppress and control the fire caused in one cargo tank on the starboard side. The safety of the crew is our foremost priority.

“We remain in contact with the vessel and are monitoring the situation carefully. Military ships in the region are under way to provide assistance.”

Earlier on Friday, a spokeswoman for the prime minister mentioned: “We continue to call on (the Houthis) to step back from such action. We’re clear that this is illegal and unacceptable.”

Foreign secretary Lord Cameron is presently ending a visit to the middle-east in a diplomatic bid to cut back tensions because the Israeli bombardment of Gaza continues.