All crew safely evacuated from burning cargoship

THE crew of a cargoship attacked in the Gulf of Aden have been successfully evacuated to nearby vessels.

Netherlands-flagged general cargoship Minervagracht (IMO: 9571521), was attacked around 1322 hrs on September 19, some 128 miles off Aden, Yemen, and was left “on fire and adrift”, with two crew members “seriously wounded”, Eunavfor’s Operation Aspides said.

Two members of Minervagracht’s crew were injured and are receiving medical attention, Spliethoff said in a statement.

The cargoship has sustained “considerable damage and is experiencing a fire”, the company added.

“Spliethoff would again like to express its deepest concern over the current events and continues to provide support to the involved seafarers and their families at this extremely difficult time.

“The company would like to thank the crew of the nearby vessels for their swift assistance during the rescue operation.”

At the time of writing, no group or entity had claimed responsibility for the latest attack, which comes after the Iranian-backed Houthi militia said it would intensify and enhance their area of attacks after Israel escalated its offensive in Gaza City.

The Houthis said they would target ships linked to Israel or those affiliated to companies calling Israeli ports.

The Netherlands-flagged Minervagracht does not have publicly known links to Israel.