By Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD: A liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) tanker carrying 27 crew members, including 24 Pakistanis, was struck by an Israeli drone at a Houthi-controlled port in Yemen on Sept. 17, sparking a fire and leading to the crew’s brief detention by Houthi rebels, Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi said on Saturday.
The crew has now been released and is safely out of Yemeni waters.
The attack at Ras Issa port highlights the growing peril to commercial shipping in the region, where Iran-backed Houthi rebels have intensified assaults on vessels in solidarity with Palestinians during the Gaza conflict. Israel has repeatedly targeted Houthi positions in response, further destabilising maritime routes.
Naqvi, in a post on X, said the tanker, with a crew including Captain Mukhtar Akbar of Pakistan, two Sri Lankans, and one Nepali, was hit while docked. “One LPG tank exploded, and the crew managed to extinguish the fire,” he wrote. “The vessel was subsequently stopped by Houthi boats, and the crew were held hostage aboard the ship.”
Pakistan’s Foreign Office confirmed the incident but did not specify the fire’s cause. Local media initially reported the Pakistani crew as “stranded” after the blaze, raising fears for their safety.
Naqvi praised the coordinated efforts that secured the crew’s release. “I am profoundly grateful to Secretary Interior Khurram Agha, other MOI officers, Ambassador Naveed Bokhari and his team in Oman, our colleagues in Saudi Arabia, and especially our security agencies who worked tirelessly under extraordinary conditions,” he said. He confirmed the tanker and crew “have now been released by the Houthis and are out of Yemeni waters.”
Foreign Office spokesperson Shafqat Ali Khan said Pakistan’s diplomatic missions in the region worked to ensure the crew’s safety. “Efforts were made to set the tanker underway again,” Khan said. “Today, the LPG tanker has departed port and is making way out of Yemeni waters. The entire crew, including Pakistani nationals, is safe and sound.” He added that diplomats kept crew families informed throughout the ordeal.
Yemen, a minor player in global LPG exports—ranking 243rd in 2023, per trade data—relies on imports through ports like Ras Issa and Hodeidah for cooking and heating fuel, despite conflict-driven disruptions. Houthi attacks on Red Sea shipping and Israel’s retaliatory strikes, including the drone attack on the tanker, have heightened risks for vessels in the region.
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