Houthis claim Red Sea tanker attacks as US strikes Iran extend to 12th night

Tensions in the Middle East deepened on Thursday after Yemen’s Houthis said they attacked two Saudi-linked oil tankers in the Red Sea, while the United States carried out strikes in Iran for a 12th consecutive night, according to the feed summary and regional reports cited by Dawn. Saudi authorities confirmed that one vessel caught fire after the incident. The Saudi state news agency SPA, citing an official source at the General Transport Authority, said the tanker Encelia was hit and that flames broke out on its bow. It added that all crew members were safe and that authorities had secured the vessel while taking steps to protect the marine environment. The Houthis said in their statement that they targeted two tankers, Encelia and Layla, claiming the vessels had violated what they described as a naval blockade on Saudi Arabia in the Red Sea. They said the attack involved ballistic and cruise missiles as well as drones. Those claims have not been independently verified in the material available. Earlier in the day, a maritime security source said the Encelia had sent a distress call over VHF radio after reporting it had been struck by a missile while operating near the outer port limits of Saudi Arabia’s Jizan, in the Red Sea. The same source said the ship was on fire. The British maritime risk-management group Vanguard also reported that the Saudi-flagged tanker Encelia was hit by an unidentified projectile on its starboard side about 130 kilometers southwest of Saudi Arabia’s Al Shuqaiq around 2000 GMT. In a separate alert, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations agency said it had received a report of an incident in the same area, with the master of a tanker saying the vessel had been struck by an unknown projectile and that fire broke out onboard. What remains unclear is who carried out the attack on the vessel reported by maritime groups and Saudi authorities. SPA did not identify the attacker, and the Houthi statement, while detailed, is a claim from the group itself. The condition of the second tanker named by the Houthis was not established in the available feed details. The reported incident highlights the continuing risks to commercial shipping in one of the world’s most sensitive maritime corridors. The Red Sea route is vital for global energy and trade flows, and even limited attacks can trigger concern among ship operators, insurers and regional security officials. For now, the key developments are the Houthi claim, Saudi confirmation of a fire aboard Encelia, and the broader backdrop of sustained US military action in Iran. With the information available, the situation appears fluid, and further official updates would be needed to confirm responsibility, the extent of any damage and whether shipping traffic in the area has been affected more widely.

Source: Dawn Home - https://www.dawn.com/news/2017740/houthis-attack-saudi-tankers-in-red-sea-as-us-strikes-iran-for-12th-consecutive-day