In a statement on the social media platform X, the U.S. Central Command said that during the attack, the Houthis first fired four anti-ship ballistic missiles (ASBMs) (explosions near the ship) at the USS M.V. Huang Pu in the Red Sea, followed by a fifth missile hitting the ship.
After the attack, the tanker M.V. Huang Pu sent a distress signal but did not call for help. Fortunately, the fire on board was quickly extinguished in just 30 minutes, with no casualties.
Marinetraffic website vessel tracking data shows that the ship sailed from the Red Sea into the Gulf of Aden on its way to its next port of call, which according to maritime security agency Ambrey is India's new Mangalore.
Moreover, it can be seen on the international shipping information website that the ship has indicated the relationship between the crew and China (INDIA ALL CREW CHINA) in the destination information office - the Chinese crew of the whole ship.
Due to minor damage, the ship has resumed sailing and continues to move forward. The British Maritime Trade Organization said the attack took place 23 nautical miles west of Yemen's Moka port, and no group has claimed responsibility for the attack.
The Houthis control much of Yemen's Red Sea coast and have launched dozens of missile and drone attacks on ships sailing in the region over the past four months. The Houthis said the actions were in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza.
"The Houthis attacked the HMS Whampoa, although they had previously said they would not attack the Chinese vessels," the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) statement said. ”
According to Bloomberg and other media reports on the 21st, several sources revealed that the Houthis in Yemen have told China and Russia that ships of the two countries can sail in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden without being targeted by the group.
According to the report, the above-mentioned sources said that an understanding was reached after talks between Chinese and Russian diplomats in Oman and one of the top political figures of the Houthis, Mohammad Abdul Salam.
On the topic of "Chinese and Russian ships passing through the Red Sea", Yemen's Houthi rebels have made similar statements. According to TASS news agency in January this year, Mohammad Bakiti, a member of the Houthi Politburo, said in an interview with Russian media that ships from countries such as Russia and China can safely pass through the Red Sea and will not be threatened when navigating in the area.
In view of this, the analysis of British maritime experts can potentially interpret it as a "misfire" caused by the Houthi missile attack on the "Whampoa" oil tanker due to information lag.
Because the registration information of the oil tanker "Whampoa" has recently changed.
The vessel was registered in 2019 by British company Union Maritime Ltd, but details such as its name and operator were changed in February 2024, according to Ambrey, the UK's maritime security agency. The tanker was taken over by a Chinese company only two months ago.
It is understood that another ship, which is part of Union Maritime Ltd, has also been attacked by the Houthis before. Therefore, it is possible that the Houthis were ignorant of the change in the ship's registration and mistakenly mistook the Whampoa for a British vessel and launched an attack.
In response to the news that Chinese and Russian ships will not be attacked, Bloomberg commented that although the Houthis have said that Chinese and Russian ships will not be targeted, the relevant talks highlight "the growing unease of world powers about the missile and drone attacks launched by the group in and around the southern Red Sea since mid-November last year".
The Houthis' vow to continue attacking Israeli, British and American ships, as well as ships heading to Israeli ports, has made the security situation for Red Sea shipping even more dire. In response to this threat, the United States leads an international coalition that it says aims to escort ships in the Red Sea and has been attacking Houthi targets in Yemen since mid-January.
Despite the actions of the United States, the European Union and others, the Houthi attacks have not stopped. Once again, we would like to remind all shippers and freight forwarders that the situation in the Red Sea is still unstable and the safety of shipping still needs to be solved urgently.
Sunny Worldwide Logistics has more than 20 years of freight forwarding history,and over half of staffs working in Sunny about 5-13years.Emergency solutions must be offered with 30 minutes if any. You may not find other companies like us in Shenzhen.
