SEARCH and rescue efforts are underway after a shadow fleet liquefied petroleum gas carrier suspected of carrying Iranian LPG suffered an explosion and a fire in the Gulf of Aden on Saturday, with two seafarers reported missing.

The 34,058 cu m Falcon (IMO: 9014432) was sailing west towards Djibouti when its stopped broadcasting automatic identification system data around 0646 hrs (UTC), according to Lloyd’s List Intelligence data.

The EU Naval Forces Operation Aspides, which responded to the incident after receiving an urgent distress request from Falcon’s master, said the remaining 24 seafarers were rescued by nearby vessels. According to Aspides, by 0700 hrs UTC, the vessel was ablaze and adrift about 113 nautical miles southeast of Aden, Yemen.

Aspides urged vessels to maintain a safe distance from Falcon’s as it is laden with LPG and poses a risk of explosion.

The reasons for the explosion and blaze on board Falcon were not immediately clear. The UK Maritime Trade Operations Centre first reported that the vessel was struck by a projectile, while Aspides said initial indications were of an accident. Both cautioned that the cause remains unclear at this stage.

Vessels traveling to Houthi-held ports are technically required to stop in Djibouti for an inspection by the United Nations Verification and Inspection Mechanism for Yemen (UNVIM), suggesting Falcon’s ultimate destination was the Houthi-held port of Ras Isa.

If the explosion was the result of a projectile, the incident would mark the second strike on an LPG tanker carrying Iranian gas and bound to the Houthis in just over a month, following the Clipper (IMO: 9102198) incident on September 16.

While the Houthis did not confirm whether the blaze on board Clipper, which broke out while the vessel was at Ras Isa anchorage, was caused by a strike, the crew of mostly Pakistani seafarers said the vessel was hit by a drone. The Pakistani minister of interior later said the vessel was hit by an Israeli drone without providing further details. The Israel Defense Forces did not respond to a request for comment.

A fake loading in Iraq

Falcon’s AIS data suggests it called in Iraq’s Khor al Zubair port on September 29 and left port less than 24 hours later, after which its draught increased, indicating it loaded a cargo.

However, Lloyd’s List Intelligence AIS data shows Falcon and another LPG carrier were supposedly at the same berth on September 29. Unsurprisingly, satellite imagery shows only one vessel, whose characteristics match the other LPG carrier, was there. It is also highly unlikely that a vessel the size of Falcon would load a full cargo at that terminal in less than 24 hours.

Satellite imagery further suggests that Falcon was instead loading in Assaluyeh, Iran, on September 25.

Fake AIS trails into Iraq are a common tactic for vessels seeking to skirt US sanctions and hide loadings in Iran.

An analysis of all tanker and gas carrier voyages — captured via AIS — into Khor al Zubair in the first half of 2025 suggests almost half were spoofed.

The September 29 fake voyage into Iraq was not Falcon’s first. The vessel, which forms part of the LPG shadow fleet* engaged in deceptive shipping practices, has a history of AIS manipulation in both the Middle East Gulf and in the Baltic.