A Greek-owned crude oil tanker Chios Lion (107,525 DWT) was forced to turn around in the Red Sea to leave the danger zone with reports that the ship may be leaking oil after a Houthi attack. Today, the Houthis also released a video of the attack, saying that the tanker traveling south from the Suez Canal was attacked because of its commercial plans towards Israeli ports.
US Central Command confirmed the drone attack, but said the Chios Lion did not request assistance. The captain informed authorities that the ship was “minorly damaged” and the crew was safe following the attack on Monday, July 15, at noon.
However, now, this ship is reported to have turned around and left Yemen. Its AIS signal remained off with the last transmission showing a message “Security Team on board.” The attack took place approximately 97 nautical miles northwest of Hodeidah, Yemen.
“While initially heading south, following the attack, the ship turned north out of the threat area to further assess damage and investigate a possible oil leak,” Information Center Joint Maritime Affairs (JMIC) said on Tuesday.
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Registered in Liberia, the ship is managed by a Greek company. UK-based digital solutions provider Vanguard reported that the management company was attacked by the Houthis in late June. The cargo ship Transworld Navigator was attacked four times between June 21 and 23, Vanguard said in its analysis of the current situation. However, the 177,900 DWT ship arrived in Türkiye on July 12 and reported no damage.
The attack on the Chios Lion was one of three incidents reported by UKMTO on Monday, including a boat carrying bombs that failed to explode and three missile attacks all targeting an Israeli-owned tanker . The Bentley I was transporting vegetable oil from Russia to China and was not damaged despite being attacked multiple times. A Houthi spokesman also claimed an attack on an oil tanker in the Mediterranean but both the ship’s owner and Cypriot authorities denied any such attack to Reuters.
CENTCOM also reported destroying a total of five drones in the past 24 hours. Three are in the Red Sea and two others are in Yemen.
According to The Maritime Executive newspaper Translation: Chartering and Operation Department
Read the original article and watch the video at:
https://maritime-executive.com/article/video-tanker-reverses-course-after-being-damaged-in- houthi-attack