Tanker ship set ablaze in attack in Gulf of Aden; Houthis deny responsibility
UK says Cameroon-flagged vessel ‘hit by an unknown projectile’; maritime security firm says crew likely abandoning ship, search mission underway
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DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — A ship caught fire Saturday in the Gulf of Aden off the coast of Yemen after being struck by a projectile, the British military said, with one report suggesting its crew was preparing to abandon the vessel.
Yemen’s Houthi rebels have been attacking ships in the Red Sea corridor over the past two years, though the group denied that its forces had any connection to the attack on the vessel, a source in the Iran-backed rebel organization told their official news agency, Saba.
The British military’s United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations center issued an alert about the vessel, describing the incident as taking place some 210 kilometers (130 miles) east of Aden.
“A vessel has been hit by an unknown projectile, resulting with a fire,” the UKMTO said. “Authorities are investigating.”
The maritime security firm Ambrey described the ship as a Cameroon-flagged tanker that was “en route from Sohar, Oman, to Djibouti.” It said radio traffic suggested the crew was preparing to abandon ship and a search-and-rescue effort was underway.
Details offered about the ship appeared to correspond to the Falcon, a Cameroon-flagged tanker that carries liquefied petroleum gas.
UKMTO WARNING 036-25 – ATTACK – 18 OCT 25
Click here to view the full Advisory⤵️https://t.co/yo0ifPJJjr#MaritimeSecurity #MarSec pic.twitter.com/BhoVg5rLs7
— UKMTO Operations Centre (@UK_MTO) October 18, 2025
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 immediately reached for comment.
The Houthis — whose slogan calls for “Death to America, Death to Israel, [and] a Curse on the Jews” — began attacking Israel and maritime traffic in November 2023, a month after the October 7, 2023, Hamas massacre.
Since the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas began on October 10, no attacks have been claimed by the Yemeni rebel group.
The Houthi campaign against shipping has killed at least nine mariners and seen four ships sunk. It upended shipping in the Red Sea, through which about $1 trillion of goods passed each year before the war. The rebels’ most recent attack hit the Dutch-flagged cargo ship Minervagracht on September 29, killing one crew member on board and wounding another.
Meanwhile, the Houthis have increasingly threatened Saudi Arabia and taken dozens of workers at United Nations agencies and other aid groups as prisoners, alleging without evidence they were spies — something fiercely denied by the world body and others.
The rebel group has also fired over 130 ballistic missiles and dozens of drones and cruise missiles at Israel, including one that killed a civilian and wounded several others in Tel Aviv in July 2024.
In response, Israel attacked the Houthis, located some 1,800 kilometers (1,100 miles) away, 19 times.
The Houthis’ leader, Abdul Malik al-Houthi, said following the announcement of a Gaza ceasefire last week that the group would resume its attacks on Israel if it deems Jerusalem has failed to hold up its side of the deal.
The Times of Israel Community.