Russian Sailors Evacuated From Yemen After US Strikes Damage Oil Tanker
All 22 Russian sailors from the oil tanker Seven Pearls have left Yemen, weeks after the ship was damaged during US airstrikes targeting the Houthi-controlled port of Ras Isa. The evacuation, confirmed by Russian diplomatic officials in Yemen, included three crew members who were injured in the attack.
A representative of the Russian Embassy told local media that all Russian citizens from the tanker crew had departed Yemen. The last group of 19 sailors flew from Sana’a to Amman, Jordan, on May 25. The product tanker itself remains anchored in Yemeni territorial waters and has not yet left the area.
The incident occurred on the morning of April 26, when the U.S. carried out a series of airstrikes against multiple Houthi-controlled areas in Yemen, including Ras Isa, Sanaa, Saada, Al-Mahwit, and Al-Hodeidah. The Seven Pearls was anchored near Ras Isa at the time and got caught in the crossfire.
Later that day, Houthi-appointed Foreign Minister Jamal Amer stated that three Russian crew members on the tanker had been injured in the strikes.
The Russian Embassy also confirmed that the injuries were “most likely” caused by the US attacks on port infrastructure. One of the sailors needed complicated eye surgery and was treated in Sanaa before being moved to Moscow.
Russia’s Charge d’Affaires in Yemen, Yevgeny Kudrov, had earlier said that arrangements were being made to evacuate the injured sailors from the Houthi-controlled capital. The shipowner later flew all three injured crew members to Moscow for further treatment.
After the airstrike, the other 19 Russian sailors remained on the ship, which at the time was not allowed to leave the port. According to Russian diplomats, the crew had sufficient supplies while they waited for the situation to stabilize and for evacuation arrangements to be made.
The Seven Pearls is a 53,700-deadweight-ton (dwt) product tanker registered in St. Kitts and Nevis and managed from Dubai, UAE. The vessel had been operating regularly between ports in the UAE, Djibouti, and Houthi-controlled territories of Yemen before the incident.
The U.S. began launching widespread strikes on Houthi positions starting March 15, stating the operations were meant to protect American interests and ensure freedom of navigation in the Red Sea and nearby waters. In early May, the U.S. and the Houthis agreed to a ceasefire through mediation efforts led by Oman.
Despite the ceasefire, the situation in the region remains tense. On May 11, Israel issued a warning urging civilians to evacuate ports like Ras Isa, Hodeidah, and Salif. Five days later, on May 16, Israeli forces launched retaliatory strikes on those very ports following missile attacks from the Houthis. Israeli authorities claimed that the port infrastructure had likely been disabled for several months due to ongoing military actions.
The Seven Pearls was one of several vessels stuck at Ras Isa after the U.S. strikes, with the Houthis preventing ships from departing. It remains unclear when or if the tanker will be able to leave Yemeni waters.
References: TASS, yemenmonitor