Houthis in Rare Effort Attack (and Miss) One Tanker Four Times

The Liberia-flagged tanker Delta Blue (158,000 dwt) has been the focus of a rare multi-day attack by the Houthis. The efforts saw the first use of speed boats and shoulder-launched rocket-propelled grenades (RPG), as well as missiles and drones, and yet the vessel reports it was not damaged and is continuing on its way.

While in the past the militants have gone after individual vessels multiple times, this instance has left security analysts speculating on the situation while the Houthis are yet to officially claim the attacks. Maritime security consultancy Vanguard reports that the Delta Blue does not appear to have any connections to the U.S., UK, or Israel, the primary targets of Houthi aggression.

The crude oil tanker which was built in 2012 operates for Delta Tankers, a Greek firm that reports a fleet of 29 tankers with a total deadweight of over five million tons. The firm has run afoul of the Iranians with one of its vessels seized in 2022. The Delta Poseidon was one of two vessels seized in May 2022 and held for six months in Iran.

“The intensity of this prolonged attack would indicate the vessel is likely to have an affiliation to Israel whether by ownership or recent trading activity,” speculates maritime security group Neptune P2P.

The first attack came yesterday with two small boats each carrying four people chasing the tanker while it was approximately 45 nautical miles south of Mukha, Yemen near the Bar al-Mandeb strait. That was the RPG attack with the master reporting an explosion nearby. The ship is laden and sailing from Iraq presumably to Europe.

The vessel was displaying on its AIS signal that it has armed guards aboard. It is unclear if the guards responded to this first attack. Eight hours later, Thursday night, the master reported a missile explosion also near the vessel. 

Five hours after the second attack, the vessel reported an uncrewed surface vessel was approaching. This time the security guards fired at and successfully detonated the explosive drone boat before it could reach the tanker. About two hours later also on Friday morning a missile splashed in the sea near the tanker.

Neptune P2P notes that the incident demonstrates the value of having armed guards embarked to mitigate against some of the threats. This is not the first instance where the guards were able to explode a bomb boat before it came close enough to cause serious damage.

The attacks come after a lull in confirmed activity from the Houthi against specific ships. They however claimed earlier in the week unconfirmed attacks against the Contships containership Contship Ono and two U.S. destroyers. U.S. Central Command, however, continues to issue daily updates listing the number of aerial and surface drones as well as missiles destroyed. Yesterday’s report also cited the destruction of one Houthi ground control station in Yemen.