Saudi Arabian national carrier Bahri has dismissed reports from the US Navy that one of its VLCCs was attacked by Houthis in the Red Sea.
US Central Command (Centcom) said the 299,800-dwt Amjad (built 2017) was caught up in the attack on another crude carrier, the 149,000-dwt Blue Lagoon I (built 2003) of Panagis Zissimatos-linked Sea Trade Marine, on Monday morning.
According to Centcom, the two ships suffered impacts from two Houthi missiles and a one-way attack uncrewed aerial system, respectively.
Both the Blue Lagoon I and the Amjad, however, reported no casualties and were proceeding to their next port of call, the Royal Navy’s UK Marine Trade Operations (UKMTO) said.
In a statement, Bahri said it “unequivocally affirms that Amjad was not targeted and sustained no injuries or damage”.
“The vessel remains fully operational and is proceeding to her planned destination without interruption.”
In a Telegram statement translated into English, the Houthis only mentioned the attack on the Blue Lagoon I.
Thus far, the Houthis have avoided targeting Saudi Arabian shipping, not least because of a political rapprochement between the two parties following years of bitter war.
Any attack — deliberate or not — on a Saudi crude carrier is likely to cause regional jitters as Aramco’s 400,000-barrels-per-day Jazan refinery sits just north of the Houthi danger area in the Red Sea.
This is not the first time the Amjad has come under attack in the region.
The VLCC was one of four vessels that sustained damage in a series of attacks off Fujairah in 2019, as TradeWind reported at the time.
Iran was widely blamed for the incidents, which involved sea drones or mines, but the case was not proven.
