An Israeli-linked chemical tanker carrying a cargo of phosphoric acid was seized in a suspected piracy incident on Nov. 26 in the Gulf of Aden, about 30 nautical miles off Yemen’s southern coast. The vessel and its crew were reported safe later that day following intervention by a US Navy warship.
The tanker Central Park was briefly boarded and captured by unknown attackers on an eastbound voyage, but was released after the US warship Mason, with help from allied ships, quickly responded to a distress call from the ship, according to a report by The Maritime Executive, citing the UK’s Maritime Trade Operations Agency.
The Central Park is managed by Israeli shipping magnate Eyal Ofer’s ship management company, London-based Zodiac Maritime Ltd. A Nov. 27 statement from Zodiac, cited by The Maritime Executive, said the 19,998 mt tanker had a full cargo of phosphoric acid. According to Reuters, the ship was carrying Moroccan phos acid destined for Asia.
The five attackers were taken on board the US warship, according to media reports, and Zodiac said the crew and ship were unharmed.
The attempted hijacking follows the seizure of an Israeli-linked car carrier off the Yemeni Red Sea port of Hodeidah last week by Yemen’s Houthi rebel group. These incidents are the latest in a series of attacks in Middle Eastern waters since the war between Israel and Hamas broke out on Oct. 7.
The attack on the Central Park appears to have been carried out by armed Somali pirates, not Yemeni Houthis, despite the firing of missiles from Houthi-controlled territory in Yemen after the boarding of the tanker, according to a Reuters report, citing the Pentagon on Nov. 27.
The Gulf of Aden and the Western Indian Ocean were once hotspots for Somali pirate attacks on foreign-flagged merchant shipping, though few attacks have been reported in recent years. There are signs of a revival in piracy, however, with the seizure by Somali militia of a foreign-flagged commercial fishing vessel off northeast Somali’s Puntland region on Nov. 22 and the demand for a $400,000 ransom, according to The Maritime Executive.