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Major General Khaled Al-Qamali, head of the Yemeni Coast Guard Service, announced the successful liberation of an oil ship hijacked in the Gulf of Aden, attributing the failed hijacking attempt to the Houthi militia.
In a statement to Xinhua news agency, Al-Qamali revealed, “This evening, an American force carried out a landing operation on board an oil ship that had been hijacked by militants in the Gulf of Aden since the morning. The ship was liberated during the operation and the pirates were arrested.” He noted that the operation involved no human casualties and occurred approximately 18 miles outside Yemeni territorial waters.
The Yemeni government, while denouncing the maritime piracy acts, accused the Houthi militia, supported by the Iranian regime, of orchestrating the hijacking.
In a subsequent statement, US Central Command said, “On Nov. 26, the USS Mason (DDG-87), with allied ships from our coalition counter-piracy task force, and associated aircraft responded to a distress call from the M/V Central Park, a commercial vessel, that they were under attack by an unknown entity. Upon arrival, coalition elements demanded release of the vessel. Subsequently, five armed individuals debarked the ship and attempted to flee via their small boat. Mason pursued the attackers resulting in their eventual surrender. The crew of the M/V Central Park is currently safe.”
The Yemeni Foreign Ministry clarified that warnings have been made about “the danger of this terrorist militia and its agenda linked to Iranian sabotage interests and projects in the region, and confirms that these actions have no connection to the Palestinian issue, and do not serve the struggles of the Palestinian people. The group that delved into killing and torturing the Yemeni people cannot be a champion of just causes.”
The incident follows reports from international news agencies about gunmen intercepting a phosphoric acid-laden ship off Aden.
