The US military detained five gunmen, believed to be Somali nationals, who tried to seize the Central Park tanker off the coast of Yemen, the Pentagon said on Monday.
The aforementioned individuals abandoned the tanker, operated by the Israeli company Zodiac Group, after the US destroyer Mason and allied ships demanded that they free the vessel.
“Five armed men…tried to escape in their small boat. Mason pursued the attackers, forcing them to surrender,” Pentagon spokesman Brigadier General Pat Ryder told reporters.
On Sunday, after boarding the ship, armed invaders tried to enter the interior of the tanker, but its crew managed to hide in a safe place.
“Preliminary evidence indicates that all five are Somalis,” Ryder added, describing the incident as “clearly related to piracy.”
The attempted hijacking of the ship was followed by the launch of two ballistic missiles from an area controlled by the Iranian-backed Yemeni Houthi militias. The missiles landed about 10 nautical miles off Mason and Central Park without causing damage to the ships, Ryder said.
