Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi group attacked a vessel in the Red Sea off Saudi Arabia’s port city of Yanbu, the group’s military spokesperson, Yahya Saree, said in a televised speech on 24 August.
Saudi Arabia’s national shipping company Bahri confirmed that one of its vessels, the Amzan, had been involved in a maritime incident in the Red Sea earlier in the day. The company said all crew members were safe and that no injuries had been reported.
Bahri said it remained in contact with the vessel and was coordinating closely with the relevant authorities.
To remind, on 24 August, a tanker had been struck by an unknown projectile about 63 nautical miles west of Yanbu. It said all crew members were safe and accounted for and that there had been no reported environmental impact.
Yanbu is Saudi Arabia’s main Red Sea oil export port and a key outlet for the kingdom’s crude shipments. Its strategic importance has grown as the Strait of Hormuz has been blocked by Iran, forcing Saudi oil exports to rely more heavily on routes through the Red Sea.