NYN | News
On Thursday evening, the Sanaa government forces announced two military operations targeting two ships, including an American oil tanker in the Red Sea and another vessel in the Indian Ocean, for violating a ban on entering ports in occupied Palestine.
The military spokesperson for the Sanaa forces, Brigadier General Yahya Saree, stated in a televised announcement that “the Yemeni Armed Forces conducted two military operations; the first targeted the American oil tanker OLYMPIC SPIRIT.”
He added that the American ship in the Red Sea was hit by “11 ballistic missiles and two drones, causing severe damage to the vessel.” He noted that the operation was carried out in coordination between the missile force, the drone force, and the naval forces.
Saree further explained that “the second operation, carried out by the missile force, targeted the vessel ST. JOHN in the Indian Ocean with a cruise missile, resulting in a direct hit.”
Saree confirmed that the attack on the ship was due to its owning company’s violation of the ban on entering ports in occupied Palestine.
The brigadier general added that these operations were “in defense of the oppressed people of Palestine and Lebanon, in support of the Palestinian and Lebanese resistance, and in response to American and British aggression on Yemen.”
Saree concluded by affirming that “the Yemeni Armed Forces will continue to impose a naval blockade on the Israeli enemy and will not stop operations in the declared naval operational zone until the aggression ends, the blockade on Gaza is lifted, and the aggression on Lebanon stops.”
Earlier on Thursday, China’s Xinhua news agency, citing a maritime source, reported that the attack on the MV OLYMPIC SPIRIT took place at 3 a.m. Yemen time while the vessel was sailing in the Red Sea off the coast of the port city of Al Hudaydah.
The source stated that the missile struck the ship’s command tower, causing severe damage but no casualties. The Olympic Spirit was reportedly carrying petrochemical products.
Additionally, the British Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) confirmed via its platform on “X” (formerly Twitter) that it had received a report of an incident involving a ship sailing in the Red Sea, 70 nautical miles southwest of Al Hudaydah. The captain reported that the ship had been hit by an unidentified projectile, causing damage.
Marine tracking data showed that the Olympic Spirit is an American oil tanker sailing under the Liberian flag, with a length of 168 meters and a width of 26.5 meters. The vessel is currently in the Red Sea and was en route to the port of Muscat, Oman, according to the data.
As for the second ship, ST. JOHN, targeted in the Indian Ocean, it is a container ship sailing under the Maltese flag, with a length of approximately 172 meters and a width of 27.4 meters. It was last reported east of Africa and was heading to Jebel Ali Port in the UAE, expected to arrive on October 16, according to maritime tracking data.
