Brendan Cole
Missiles that landed in waters in the Gulf of Aden were not intended for a U.S. warship or the Israeli-linked tanker it was helping, which pirates had stormed, the U.S. military has said as it revealed new details about the dramatic incident.
On Monday, the warship USS Mason responded to an emergency call from the tanker Central Park after five armed individuals stormed the 20,000 metric-ton vessel carrying phosphorus, about 54 nautical miles off the coast of Somalia.
Central Park is operated by Zodiac Maritime, which is run by the Israeli businessman Eyal Ofer, whose vessel had been the subject of threats by Yemen's Houthi rebels, who demanded it divert to the port of Hodeida.
Zodiac Maritime said the Liberian-flagged vessel had come under attack "by pirates," although marine security expert Ambrey Analytics said the incident was "likely linked to state actors," even though their identity has not been confirmed, shipping publication Trade Winds reported.
American destroyer USS Mason is seen close to the port city of Ismailia in Egypt on March 12, 2011. The Pentagon has said it was not the intended target of a missile attack in the Gulf of Aden on November 27, 2023.
The coalition counter-piracy task force TF 151 demanded the attackers release the vessel and the group tried to escape on a fast boat before surrendering.
U.S. Central Command had said that two ballistic missiles fired from Houthi-controlled Yemen had splashed down around 10 nautical miles from the vessels.
Following Monday's incident, Zodiac Maritime told Newsweek in a statement that it had been "working closely with international naval coalition partners in the region." It also thanked them for responding "quickly, protecting assets in the area and upholding international maritime law."
Pentagon Press Secretary Air Force Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder told a news conference on Tuesday that it appeared to be unclear whether it was one or two missiles, and that their firing "was not specific—the ships were not specifically being targeted."
"We also at this point assess that the vessels, the Mason and the Central Park, were not the intended targets," he added. "That said, I can't speak for what the intended...target was, and would have to refer you to the Houthi rebels to talk to that."
Houthi rebels in Yemen are aligned with Iran and are among Tehran's proxies that have launched attacks on Israel as well as U.S. targets in the region since the start of the current war in the Middle East. Last week, they attacked several commercial vessels in the Red Sea, which is adjacent to the Gulf of Aden.
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