An explosion struck a Hong Kong-flagged container ship Tuesday as it traveled north through the Red Sea, sparking a major fire that forced its crew to abandon the vessel, shipping industry officials said.
The Diaplous Group
The ship was drifting and ablaze some 225 kilometers off the coast of Hodeida, a port city in Yemen held by the country’s Houthi rebels, said the Diaplous Group, a maritime firm. It did not name the vessel.
NASA satellites tracking ( ASL Bauhinia )
Data from NASA satellites tracking wildfires showed the blaze burning Tuesday and Wednesday off Eritrea’s Dahlak Archipelago corresponded to satellite-tracking data from Marine Traffic.com for the location of the ASL Bauhinia, a Hong Kong-flagged container ship. It had been traveling from the United Arab Emirates’ Jebel Ali port in Dubai to port of Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, before beginning to drift Tuesday.
Targeted by attacks
It wasn’t immediately clear what caused the fire in the Red Sea, which has been repeatedly targeted by attacks from the Houthis. The rebels said last week they were limiting their assaults following a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip. The Houthis did not immediately acknowledge the fire incident.
The cargo aboard the vessel as “dangerous
The vessel was abandoned and the crew later rescued unharmed, another maritime industry official told The Associated Press. The official spoke on condition of anonymity as authorization hadn’t been given to speak publicly about the incident.
The official described the cargo aboard the vessel as “dangerous,” without immediately elaborating. The ultimate owner of the ASL Bauhinia, CSSC Hong Kong Shipping Co. Ltd., could not be immediately reached for comment Wednesday.
عاجــــــ_الان_ـــــــــل
سفينة حاويات تحترق الآن في البحر الأحمر 🔥
ترقبوا البشاير من العميد يحيى سريع pic.twitter.com/unJgaakq2D
— أنصار الله ( اليمن 🇾🇪 ) (@ly2012841643740) January 28, 2025
The Houthi attacks,
The Red Sea is home to coral and marine life that previously has been threatened by burning ships from the Houthi campaign and the threat of wider oil spills.
The Houthi attacks, which began in November 2023, have halved the number of ships passing through the Red Sea corridor, a crucial route for energy shipments and cargo moving between Asia and Europe. Despite the pledge by the Houthis to limit their attacks, shippers broadly are still shying away from the route over the risks. Some $1 trillion worth of trade passed through the region each year before the attacks.
Israeli ships only
It is noteworthy that the incident comes at a time when the Houthis in Yemen have indicated that they will limit their targeting of Israeli ships only in the Red Sea corridor, at a time when the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip has come into effect.
For more than a year, the Houthis have been carrying out military operations against Israel with ballistic missiles and drones “in support of the Palestinians in Gaza.”
The current position of ASL BAUHINIA is at Persian Gulf reported 6 days ago by AIS. The vessel is en route to CHN VSL&ALL CREW CHN, sailing at a speed of 13.7 knots and expected to arrive there on Jan 28, 19:00. The vessel ASL BAUHINIA (IMO 9935868, MMSI 477856700) is a Container Ship built in 2022 (3 years old) and currently sailing under the flag of Hong Kong.according to vessel Finder
Sources :Agencies
Related :
Houthis claim they will now limit Red Sea attacks to Israeli ships
Saudi company denies about Houthi attack on its ship in Red Sea