DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — A fire that erupted on a Cameroonian-flagged gas tanker traveling through the Gulf of Aden killed two mariners on board, authorities said Monday, as the ship remained adrift off the coast of Yemen.
The blaze aboard the Falcon began on Saturday and appeared to be an accident, according to the U.S. Navy-overseen Joint Maritime Information Center. However, there were no other immediate details and the ship had been abandoned at sea, without any time for further investigation.
“The incident resulted from an explosion deemed as an accident and not caused by external factor/influence,” the center said, citing the crew members. “Of the 26 crew onboard, 24 crew members were evacuated safely by responding vessels but two of the crew members have unfortunately passed away.”
The ship’s crew was Indian with one Ukrainian abroad. Photos released by the Djibouti Ports and Free Zones Authority showed the mariners had arrived in Djibouti.
The British military’s United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations center initially reported the Falcon had been “hit by an unknown projectile” on Saturday, but later said it could not confirm what caused the blast.
Satellite images from Planet Labs PBC analyzed by The Associated Press showed the ship ablaze off Yemen at 0750 GMT Saturday. Photographs released early Monday by the European Union’s Operation Aspides, which patrols the Red Sea corridor, showed flames burning and extensive damage to the piping on its deck, though the ship was not listing, meaning tilting to the side.
The Falcon “remains on fire and adrift,” the EU force warned. It said a private firm would salvage the tanker.
Yemen’s Houthi rebels have been carrying out attacks targeting ships traveling through the Red Sea, the Gulf of Aden and the Bab el-Mandeb Strait connecting the waterways. The Iranian-backed Houthis have gained international prominence during the Israel-Hamas war over their attacks on shipping and Israel, which they said were aimed at forcing Israel to stop fighting.
However, since the ceasefire in Gaza began on Oct. 10, no attacks have been claimed by the Yemeni rebels.
The Falcon previously had been identified by United Against Nuclear Iran, a New York-based pressure group, as operating allegedly in an Iranian “ghost fleet” of ships moving their oil products in the high seas despite international sanctions. The ship’s owners and operators, listed as being in India, could not be reached for comment.
By JON GAMBRELL
Associated Press
