Crew extinguishes blaze on tanker hit by missile in Gulf of Aden

Crews extinguished a fire on board the tanker Marlin Luanda on Saturday after the vessel was struck by a Houthi anti-ship missile in the Gulf of Aden on Friday, commodities trader Trafigura said.

"All crew on board the Marlin Luanda are safe, and the fire in the cargo tank has been fully extinguished. The vessel is now sailing towards a safe harbor," Trafigura said in a statement, adding that the firefighting effort had been supported by Indian, US, and French navy vessels.

The US military said earlier that a US Navy ship and other vessels were assisting after a Houthi anti-ship missile hit the Marlin Luanda.

Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthi militants have launched waves of exploding drones and missiles at vessels since Nov. 19 in response to Israel's military operations in Gaza.

Some shipping companies have suspended transits through the Red Sea and taken much longer, costlier journeys around Africa.

The Houthi attacks have primarily targeted container vessels moving through the Red Sea. Many oil tankers have kept using the route.

The Marshall Islands-flagged Marlin Luanda issued a distress call on Friday and reported damage, US Central Command said in a post on X. The USS Carney and other coalition ships were assisting the tanker.

The tanker was carrying Russian naphtha purchased below the price cap in line with G7 sanctions, a Trafigura spokesperson said on Friday.

Reuters