At approximately 0110 EST, the UK Maritime Trade Operations authority reported that a tanker had been hit in the Bab al-Mandan strait approximately 30NM south of Mocha, Yemen.
UKMTO WARNING 013/DEC/2023
Category: Incident#MaritimeSecurity #marsec https://t.co/a6eYax4Zi0 pic.twitter.com/mTSPQo18Nw
— United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) (@UK_MTO) December 18, 2023
By 0500 EST, it was confirmed that the tanker, M/V SWAN ATLANTIC, was struck by at least two projectiles, was hailing on emergency frequencies, and had been assisted by the USS CARNEY, a U.S. guided missile destroyer and one of the now forty coalition vessels near Yemen as U.S. operations against the Houthis loom.
Just in: Another attack on a commercial ship in the Red Sea, US military official confirms.
M/V Swan Atlantic attacked by ‘multiple projectiles’ approx. 9 a.m. Sanaa time in southern Red Sea. USS Carney responded to Swan Atlantic’s distress call.
— Jared Szuba (@JM_Szuba) December 18, 2023
By 0700 EST, the Norwegian company Inventor Chemical Tankers confirmed their ship had been struck, but that it was also continuing into its port of destination.
SWAN ATLANTIC is a Liquid Bulk Carrier, built in 2017 (6 years old). It’s sailing under the flag of Cayman Islands.
According to the latest AIS and Satellite data, the vessel is currently on route to Pointe des Galets, Reunion.
