Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis said on Monday they had targeted a panamax bulk carrier ship in the Red Sea, the latest such strike since the start of the Israel-Hamas war.
The Houthis identified the vessel as the Star Iris. The spokesperson for the Yemeni armed forces, Yahya Sare’e, said in a televised statement the ship was American.
“The naval forces of the Yemeni Armed Forces targeted the American ship “Star Iris” in the Red Sea with a number of suitable naval missiles, and the strikes were accurate and direct”, said Yahya Sare’e via social media platform X on Monday, and warned that they will not hesitate to carry out more operations.
The information about the “Star Iris” ship is not yet officially confirmed by the company.
AIS data from MarineTraffic shows the ship departed from Vila do Conde port on January 12 and was heading to the port of Bandar Imam Khomeini.
The 20-year-old panamax bulk carrier, built in 2004, is a Marshall-flagged ship 76,466.00 mt dwt and is one of the 115 bulk carriers on the water of Star Bulk Carriers Corp. listed on Nasdaq.
The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) agency said early on Monday it had received a report of an incident 40 nautical miles south of Yemen’s Al Mukha.
The ship reported but not named by UKMTO had been attacked by two missiles, but the crew were safe and the vessel, which suffered a minor damage, is proceeding to its next port of call, UKMTO added in an updated advisory note.
To remind, Star Bulk operates a fleet of 117 vessels, on a fully delivered basis, with an aggregate capacity of 13.2 million dwt, consisting of newcastlemax, capesize, mini capesize, 7 post panamax, kamsarmax, panamax, ultramax and supramax vessels with carrying capacities between 53,489 dwt and 209,537 dwt.
