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A delivery vessel linked to an Israeli billionaire was attacked by “pirates” off the coast of Yemen on Sunday earlier than “worldwide naval coalition companions” responded to the incident, the ship’s father or mother firm mentioned.
The tried seizure of the Central Park, a chemical tanker, got here after a minimum of two different tankers have been equally attacked in incursions believed to have had ties to the battle between Israel and Hamas.
The tanker is owned by Clumvez Delivery Inc., and managed by British firm Zodiac Maritime. The crew and cargo are secure, based on Janni Järvinen, a disaster supervisor representing Zodiac.
The Central Park had been transiting a delivery route within the Gulf of Aden — which has prior to now been a hub of pirate exercise — when it despatched a misery name early Sunday morning, Järvinen mentioned in an electronic mail.
Since then, Zodiac Maritime’s staff in London “have been working intently with worldwide naval coalition companions within the area,” Järvinen mentioned. “We wish to thank the coalition forces who responded shortly, defending belongings within the space and upholding worldwide maritime legislation.”
Järvinen didn’t reply to a follow-up electronic mail asking which naval forces intervened, what that response concerned and whether or not the pirates’ nation of origin was identified.
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There was a crew of twenty-two onboard the ship, Järvinen beforehand mentioned. The crew aboard have been Russian, Vietnamese, Bulgarian, Indian, Georgian and Filipino nationals. The Liberian-flagged ship was transporting phosphoric acid.
Zodiac Maritime is a model underneath Israeli billionaire Eyal Ofer’s Zodiac Group. The Ofer household made their fortune by way of actual property and delivery, based on Forbes.
The tried seizure of the Central Park comes after comparable incidents in current days.
Final week, Iranian-backed Houthi rebels mentioned they’d seized an Israeli-linked vessel named Galaxy Chief within the Purple Sea, and vowed to focus on ships owned or operated by Israel. Yemen-based Houthi rebels are a part of a large community of Tehran-supported armed factions within the Center East.
In 2021, two folks died aboard a Zodiac Maritime oil tanker after the vessel was attacked with an explosive drone amid a string of assaults on the time on tankers and different vessels when tensions have been excessive within the area.
Christian Davenport and Kyle Rempfer contributed to this report.