US Airstrike Injures Russian Sailors on Oil Tanker at Yemeni Port of Ras Isa
Three Russian crew members aboard an oil tanker were injured during a U.S. airstrike on Yemen’s Ras Isa oil port on April 25, according to officials from both the Russian and Houthi sides.
The vessel, a 54,000 deadweight tonnage product tanker named Seven Pearls, was docked at the port and preparing to unload oil when the strike occurred.
Houthi foreign minister Jamal Amer reported that the three sailors suffered injuries of varying severity and were later taken to a hospital. He identified them as Artyom Vanin, Igor Kazachenko, and Roman Kashpor.
The Russian charge d’affaires in Yemen, Yevgeny Kudrov, confirmed that all three injured men were crew members of the ship Seven Pearls. He stated that one sailor is still hospitalised and may need surgery due to a serious eye injury.
However, according to Kudrov, none of their lives are currently at risk. The remaining 19 crew members are safe and are currently moored at a secure distance from the Yemeni coast.
Details of the Seven Pearls
The Seven Pearls, flagged under St. Kitts and registered through anonymous ownership in Liberia, has a history of travelling between Houthi-controlled Yemeni ports and other regional locations such as the UAE and Djibouti.
The vessel had also taken a three-month detour to the Mediterranean and Black Sea over the past year. Its AIS (Automatic Identification System) signal has not been detected for more than a month, with its last known location near the Suez Canal.
Despite the U.S. State Department’s warning to halt all commercial activity at Houthi-controlled ports, Seven Pearls was present at Ras Isa during the American strike.
Attack on Ras Isa Port
Ras Isa, located on Yemen’s Red Sea coast in the al-Hodeidah governorate, is the main oil loading terminal in areas controlled by the Houthi group.
Satellite imagery and bystander videos from the day of the attack showed at least one vessel moored at the port’s pier during the explosion.
The hijacked car carrier Galaxy Leader, held by Houthi forces since November 2023, was also visible in some footage.
Earlier, on April 18, a separate U.S. airstrike targeting the port’s energy infrastructure killed between 70 to 80 people and left about 170 injured, according to Houthi-run media outlets.
U.S. forces conducted multiple attacks on April 25, not only hitting Ras Isa but also launching five airstrikes on Houthi positions in southern Sana’a and seven additional strikes on barracks in Yemen’s Marib governorate, as reported by Al Arabiya TV.
Reference: TASS