23 Indian crew members were rescued on Monday from the MV Falcon, an LPG tanker which caught fire and has been drifting off the coast of Yemen since Saturday. They were handed over to the Djibouti Coast Guard.
The Cameroon-flagged vessel, fully loaded with liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), was travelling from Oman's Sohar to Djibouti.
However, an initial report from the British military’s United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) centre said that the MV Falcon was "hit by an unknown projectile", which caused an explosion onboard the tanker.
The incident took place around 116 nmi (214.8km) east of Aden.
"We cannot rule out an onboard accident," the UKMTO later said, adding that it was still unable to confirm the source of the explosion.
In its latest update on Sunday, the European Union's naval force (EUNAVFOR) Aspides cautioned all passing vessels in the area to proceed with caution, in order to reduce the risk of further explosions.
Aspides confirmed that 23 Indians and one Ukrainian were rescued from the burning tanker, with a search and rescue operation launched for the remaining two crew members.
Notably, the MV Falcon had earlier been listed by New York-based advocacy group United Against Nuclear Iran, for being part of an alleged Iranian “ghost fleet” that was in violation of international sanctions due to its oil cargo.
However, a Houthi defence ministry official was quick to declare that the group had no connection to the incident, as per a Reuters report. Neither missiles nor unmanned aerial vehicles had been detected in the area either, the report added, citing maritime security sources.
Aspides has also said that a private salvage company was hired for the MV Falcon's salvage operations, as the investigation into the cause of the explosion continues.
