July 23 (Reuters) – Yemen’s Houthis said early on Thursday they had carried out a military operation targeting two Saudi oil tankers, and maritime security reports said one of the vessels named by the group, the Saudi-flagged tanker Encelia, had been hit in the Red Sea.
The Houthis identified the two tankers as “ENCELIA” and “LAYLA”, saying the vessels had violated a naval blockade imposed by the Iran-aligned group on Saudi Arabia. The Houthis said they targeted the tankers with a number of ballistic and cruise missiles.
A maritime security source said Encelia had transmitted a distress call via VHF, reporting it had been struck by a missile while operating at the outer port limits of Saudi Arabia’s Jizan, in the Red Sea, and was on fire.
British maritime risk management group Vanguard said the Saudi-flagged tanker ENCELIA was struck by an unknown projectile on its starboard side about 70 nautical miles southwest of Saudi Arabia’s Al Shuqaiq at 2000 GMT.
The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations agency (UKMTO) said it had received a report of an incident in the same area, saying the master of a tanker reported being struck by an unknown projectile that caused a fire onboard, which the crew were fighting. UKMTO said no casualties or environmental impact had been reported.
It was not immediately clear whether the UKMTO report referred to the Encelia, though the location and details matched the Vanguard report.
Vanguard said the Houthis had reportedly claimed the attack, as well as saying they had hit a second vessel, LAYLA, which it said remained unconfirmed.
The maritime security source said no further information was immediately available on casualties, the status of the crew, the extent of damage or any environmental impact.
The Houthis said on Monday they were imposing a naval blockade on Saudi Arabia in the Red Sea, a move that threatens to disrupt global energy supplies beyond the Gulf.
In the same statement, the Houthis said they had forced around 10 ships to retreat and return after warning vessels against sailing to Saudi ports. Reuters could not immediately verify this account.
Five tankers changed course in the Red Sea on Wednesday, with two signalling the Suez Canal as their new destination after the Houthis warned ships to avoid Saudi ports, ship-tracking data showed.
(Reporting by Enas Alashray and Yomna Ehab; Additional Reporting by Renee Maltezou and Jonathan Saul; Editing by Nia Williams)
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