A group of unidentified gunmen boarded the Central Park ship with Vietnamese crew members, then left the vessel when a US warship intervened.
Zodiac Maritime, the company that manages the tanker Central Park, said on November 26 that an unidentified armed group boarded the ship and then left the vessel. The Central Park and its 22 crew members, including citizens of India, Bulgaria, the Philippines, Russia, Türkiye and Vietnam, are all safe.
US officials announced the same day that US forces in the area received a request for assistance from the Central Park and the destroyer USS Mason responded. It is not clear how the US warship rescued the Central Park and the gunmen left the vessel.
Central Park tanker. Photo: Zodiac
According to Zodiac, the Central Park is owned by Clumvez Shipping, a UK-based company. Other records indicate that the ship belongs to Zodiac. Zodiac Maritime, a London-based company, is part of the Zodiac Group, owned by Israeli billionaire Eyal Ofer.
Zodiac Maritime vessels have been targeted in the covert confrontation between Iran and Israel. The tanker Mercer Street was attacked by a drone off the coast of Oman in 2021, killing two sailors. The US and the West blamed Iran for the attack.
On November 19, the Houthis seized the Galaxy Leader cargo ship in the Red Sea and brought it back to Yemen, affirming that they would treat the 25 crew members according to Islamic principles and values. The Houthis warned that all ships owned by or doing business with Iran would be targeted by the group.
Following the October 7 Hamas attack that prompted Israel to launch a campaign against the Gaza Strip in response, the Houthis repeatedly launched ballistic missiles and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) at Israel. The IDF and US warships in the Red Sea region participated in intercepting these attacks.
The Houthis say they are part of an “axis of resistance” targeting Israel, which includes armed groups in Lebanon, Syria and Iraq backed by Iran.
Location of the Gulf of Aden and Yemen. Graphic: Wikipedia .
Nguyen Tien (According to Reuters )
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