Unidentified armed individuals have seized a tanker carrying a cargo of phosphoric acid in the Gulf of Aden on Sunday, the vessel's managing company and a U.S. defence official said.
Central Park is managed by Zodiac Maritime Ltd, a London-headquartered international ship management company owned by Israel's Ofer family
Unidentified armed individuals have seized a tanker carrying a cargo of phosphoric acid in the Gulf of Aden on Sunday, the vessel's managing company and a U.S. defence official said.
The incident, involving the chemical tanker Central Park, is the latest in a series of attacks in Middle Eastern waters since a brutal war between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas broke out on Oct. 7.
It followed a seizure of an Israeli-linked cargo ship by Yemen Houthis, allies of Iran, in the southern Red Sea last week. The group, which also fired ballistic missiles and armed drones at Israel, vowed to target more Israeli vessels.
"U.S. and coalition forces are in the vicinity and we are closely monitoring the situation," the U.S. official said.
Central Park, a small chemical tanker (19,998 metric tons), is managed by Zodiac Maritime Ltd, a London-headquartered international ship management company owned by Israel's Ofer family. The Liberian-flagged vessel was built in 2015 and is owned by Clumvez Shipping Inc, LSEG data showed.
The Israeli military announced Wednesday the elimination of Hassan Ali Marwan, commander of Hezbollah's Imam Hussein Brigade, killed in an overnight airstrike in the Beirut area, just one week after his predecessor was eliminated in the same role.
Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi declared Wednesday that Tehran had "no intention of returning to the pre-war status quo" regarding the Strait of Hormuz, signaling that Iran views the world's most critical energy chokepoint as a permanent bargaining chip.
Israel announced Wednesday it had killed Intelligence Minister Esmail Khatib, the second elimination of a top Iranian leadership figure in as many days, and revealed that the Israeli military had been given blanket authorisation to target any senior Iranian official without requiring additional political approval.
To make this website run properly and to improve your experience, we use cookies. For more detailed information, please check our Cookie Policy.
Necessary cookies enable core functionality. The website cannot function properly without these cookies, and can only be disabled by changing your browser preferences.