On Sunday, the Arleigh Burke-class destroyer USS Mason received a distress call from the M/V Central Park, a 20,000 DWT oil/chemical tanker, in the Gulf of Aden, that reported they were under attack by an unknown entity. Five armed individuals had boarded the tanker. The tanker’s crew barricaded themselves in the tanker’s citadel, an armored panic room.

When the USS Mason and other coalition vessels arrived at the Central Park, they demanded the release of the ship. Five gunmen attempted to flee from the tanker in a skiff. The crew of Mason pursued the skiff as it headed toward Yemen with the ship’s embarked helicopter and ultimately forced the five to surrender. They were detained for questioning.

The US Central Command also reported that two ballistic missiles were fired from Houthi-controlled areas in Yemen toward the general location of the USS Mason and M/V Central Park. The missiles landed in the Gulf of Aden approximately ten nautical miles from the ships. There was no damage or reported injuries from either vessel during this incident.

Central Park, which was loaded with a cargo of phosphoric acid at the time of the attempted hijacking, is managed by Zodiac Maritime Ltd, a London-headquartered international ship management company owned by Israel’s Ofer family. The Liberian-flagged vessel was built in 2015 and is owned by Clumvez Shipping Inc, LSEG data showed. 

Ofer’s company owned M/V Mercer Street, a Liberian-flagged tanker that was attacked by a drone in 2021 off the coast of Oman. Two crew members were killed in that attack.

Voice of America reports that the attempted hijacking of the Central Park appears to have been carried out by armed Somali pirates and not Yemeni Houthis, despite the firing of missiles from Houthi-controlled territory in Yemen afterward, the Pentagon said Monday.

“We’re continuing to assess, but initial indications are that these five individuals are Somali,” said Pentagon spokesperson Brigadier General Patrick Ryder. “Clearly a piracy-related incident,” Ryder added.