Three Russian crew members were hurt after a U.S. airstrike hit the Ras Isa oil port in Yemen on April 25. The oil tanker they were working on, named Seven Pearls, was docked and getting ready to unload oil when the strike occurred.
Officials from both Russian and Houthi sources confirmed the incident. The tanker, which can carry up to 54,000 tons, was directly affected during the attack.
Who Were the Injured Sailors?
Houthi authorities shared the names of the injured: Artyom Vanin, Igor Kazachenko, and Roman Kashpor. All three were taken to a hospital. One of them reportedly has a serious eye injury and may need surgery. However, Russian officials confirmed that their lives are not in danger.
Russia’s diplomat in Yemen, Yevgeny Kudrov, confirmed that the three sailors were part of the Seven Pearls crew. He said that the rest of the 19-member crew is safe. They moved the ship to a safer distance off the Yemeni coast after the incident.
More About the Tanker Seven Pearls
The Seven Pearls sails under the flag of St. Kitts and is registered in Liberia. Its ownership is anonymous. Over the past year, the tanker has traveled between Houthi-controlled ports in Yemen and nearby regions like the UAE and Djibouti. It even made a trip to the Mediterranean and Black Sea for about three months.
Interestingly, the ship’s AIS (Automatic Identification System) signal hasn’t been seen for over a month. Its last known position was near the Suez Canal, as confirmed by Russian media.
Why is Ras Isa Port Important?
Ras Isa is Yemen’s main oil export terminal on the Red Sea, located in the Hodeidah region. It’s a critical point for shipping oil in areas controlled by the Houthis.
Satellite images and bystander videos from the day of the strike show at least one vessel docked at the port during the explosion. One video also shows the Galaxy Leader, a ship captured by Houthis in November 2023, still at the port.
More Airstrikes Followed
This was not the only airstrike in the area. Just a week earlier, on April 18, another U.S. strike hit energy facilities at the port. Reports from Houthi media say that attack killed 70 to 80 people and injured around 170 others.
On April 25—the same day Seven Pearls was hit—U.S. forces carried out several more strikes. These included five in southern Sana’a and seven more on military barracks in Marib, according to Al Arabiya TV.
Adapted for www.shiportrade.com
News originally published by Marine Insight
