A NORWEGIAN chemical tanker struck by a Houthi missile yesterday was heading to Italy and has no links to Israel, according to its disponent owner.

Norway-flagged handysize tanker Strinda (IMO: 9330771) was hit and caught fire at about 2100 hrs GMT on December 11 as it transited the Bab el-Mandeb Strait towards the Red Sea, according to the US Central Command.

Cruise missiles were fired from a Houthi-controlled area of Yemen, Centcom said in a statement. Destroyer USS Mason responded to Strindas mayday call.

Norwegian shipowner J. Ludwig Mowinckels Rederi said none of the crew, all Indian, were harmed and they put out the fire. The ship had been sailing from Malaysia to Italy carrying biofuel feedstock, and is now heading to a safe port.

“We are very happy that the crew is safe,” CEO Geir Belsnes told Lloyd’s List.

He said the US and French navies helped the ship to safe waters. 

Belsnes said: “There is no Israeli link to the ownership or the management of the vessel. She was, however, tentatively nominated by her charterers for a cargo out of Ashdod in January.

“The contract was entered into three weeks ago, subject to no further escalations in the area.

“Owners had an option to cancel the contract if such a worsening of the situation would take place.”

Belsnes added: “Upon the recommendation of our security advisers, it was decided to withhold this information until the vessel and her crew were in safe waters.”

A spokesperson for the Iran-backed Houthis, Yahya Sare’e, said Strinda was targeted because it was sailing for Israel laden with oil.

On Saturday, the Houthis threatened to attack ships that call at Israeli ports, having previously said they would only target those with affiliations to Israel.

Strinda did not signal its next destination while in the Gulf of Aden, instead using Automatic Identification System data to communicate the presence of armed guards on board.

The last AIS transmission received for the vessel was at 2158 hrs GMT.

Mowinckels Rederi confirmed the tanker is not currently employed on an Israel journey.

However, Ashdod port lists Strinda on its shipping schedule, indicating the vessel is expected in January 2024.

The attack is an insight into just how broadly the Houthis define trading with Israel. This is the fifth direct attack since they started issuing threats.

Sare’e said the Houthis had stopped several ships from passing through the Red Sea after they responded to warnings of imminent attack.

He said: “The Yemeni armed forces confirm that they continue to prevent all ships of all nationalities heading to Israeli ports from navigating in the Arab and Red Seas until they bring in the food and medicine that our steadfast brothers in the Gaza Strip need.”

Hijacked car carrier Galaxy Leader (IMO: 9237307), owned by Israeli shipowner Ray Shipping, was the first vessel to be targeted by the Houthis. 

Today Galaxy Leader transmitted its first AIS position since the November 19 attack. The two messages show it is south of Yemen’s Saleef port.

The vessel had previously been anchored off Hodeidah.

International Maritime Organization secretary-general Kitack Lim has called the threats to regional commercial shipping as “extremely alarming and unacceptable”.

“Commercial shipping should never be a collateral victim of geopolitical conflicts,” Lim said in a statement. 

“Any attack on commercial shipping is contrary to international maritime law, including laws which protect the freedom of navigation.”