Gabon-flagged, India-crewed crude oil tanker Sai Baba hit by drone in Southern Red Sea

Indian crew on Gabon-flagged M/V Sai Baba attacked by one-way drone in Red Sea, no injuries reported.

A Gabon-flagged crude oil tanker Merchant Vessel (M/V) Sai Baba with Indian crew heading to India reported that it was hit by a one-way attack drone though no injuries were reported in the Southern Red Sea, according to US Central Command (CENTCOM).

“At approximately 8 p.m. (Sanaa time), U.S. Naval Forces Central Command received reports from two ships in the Southern Red Sea that they were under attack,” CENTCOM said on social media platform X. The USS Laboon responded to the distress calls from these attacks, it stated.

These attacks represent the 14th and 15th attacks on commercial shipping by Houthi militants since Oct. 17. The other vessel is M/V BLAAMANEN, a Norwegian-flagged, owned, and operated chemical/oil tanker, reported a near miss of a Houthi one-way attack drone with no injuries or damage reported.

The vessel is a Gabon flagged vessel and the classification society for registration is through the Indian Registrar of Shipping, defence sources said. The tanker is managed by an Indian Company and has an all Indian crew, it has been learnt. “The Company manager confirmed the attack was unsuccessful and vessel was not hit. All crew are safe and the vessel is heading towards India,” a source in the know stated.

Also on Saturday, two Houthi anti-ship ballistic missiles were fired into international shipping lanes in the Southern Red Sea from Houthi controlled areas of Yemen, CENTOM said adding no ships reported being impacted by the ballistic missiles. Between 3 and 8 p.m. (Sanaa time), the USS Laboon was patrolling in the Southern Red Sea as part of Operation Prosperity Guardian (OPG) and shot down four unmanned aerial drones originating from Houthi-controlled areas in Yemen that were inbound to the USS Laboon, it added.

These attacks represent a significant scale up in attacks on commercial shipping from Houthi held areas of Yemen.

On Saturday morning, Liberian-flagged M/V Chem Pluto was hit by a suspected drone just outside the Indian Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) and is now heading to Mumbai escorted by Indian Coast Guard ship Vikram. Chem Pluto operated by a Dutch company has a 21 member crew, 20 Indians and one Vietnamese, was located around 217 nautical miles from the Porbandar coast in the Arabian Sea when it was hit.