Hijacking attempt on Israel-linked ship thwarted by Navy, officials say

U.S. naval forces thwarted an attempted hijacking Sunday off Yemen of a tanker owned by an Israeli billionaire, according to two U.S. officials and the tanker’s parent company.

Some of the attackers were detained during the response, which involved the Navy destroyer Mason, according to the U.S. officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue. After the attempted hijacking was disrupted, ballistic missiles were fired at the tanker from Houthi-controlled territory in Yemen and landed in the Gulf of Aden, a senior U.S. official said. It wasn’t immediately clear whether the missiles were intercepted or if they missed their target.

A representative for Zodiac Maritime, the British company that manages the tanker, said its team in London has “been working closely with international naval coalition partners in the region.”

“We would like to thank the coalition forces who responded quickly, protecting assets in the area and upholding international maritime law,” Janni Järvinen, a crisis manager representing Zodiac, wrote in an email.

The attempted seizure of the Central Park, a chemical tanker, came after at least two other tankers were similarly attacked in incursions thought to have had ties to the conflict between Israel and Hamas. The Central Park’s crew and cargo are safe, according to Järvinen.

The Central Park had been transiting a shipping route in the Gulf of Aden — which has in the past been a hub of pirate activity — when it sent a distress call early Sunday, Järvinen said.

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There was a crew of 22 aboard the ship, Järvinen said, including Russian, Vietnamese, Bulgarian, Indian, Georgian and Filipino nationals. The Liberian-flagged ship was transporting phosphoric acid.

Zodiac Maritime is a brand under Israeli billionaire Eyal Ofer’s Zodiac Group. The Ofers made their fortune through real estate and shipping, according to Forbes.

The attempted seizure of the Central Park comes after similar incidents in recent days.

Last week, Iranian-backed Houthi rebels said they had seized the Israeli-linked vessel Galaxy Leader in the Red Sea, and they vowed to target ships owned or operated by Israel. Yemen-based Houthi rebels are part of a wide network of Tehran-supported armed factions in the Middle East.

In 2021, two people died aboard a Zodiac Maritime oil tanker after the vessel was attacked with an explosive drone amid a string of attacks on tankers and other vessels when tensions were high in the region.

Christian Davenport and Kyle Rempfer contributed to this report.