Houthis free LPG tanker and crew following attack at Ras Isa port

On 17 September, an LPG tanker docked at Ras Isa port in Yemen was attacked by an Israeli drone, according to Pakistan’s Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi. 

The vessel, carrying 27 crew members (including 24 Pakistanis, 2 Sri Lankans and 1 Nepali), suffered an explosion in one of its LPG tanks, the Pakistani Interior Minister said in a statement on social media. The crew managed to contain the fire, but the ship was later intercepted by Houthi boats and the crew was held onboard under duress.

However, due to the efforts of Secretary of the Interior Khurram Agha, Ambassador Naveed Bokhari and his team in Oman, colleagues in Saudi Arabia and officials from security agencies, all crew members have now been safely released.

Their efforts under difficult conditions were instrumental in securing the crew’s freedom when the situation appeared increasingly dire and confirm that the tanker and its crew have safely exited Yemeni waters, Naqvi stated. 

The date of the claimed drone attack was the day after a large-scale Israeli raid on Hodeidah, the main Houthi-controlled seaport. 

source : safety4sea