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Chinese naval vessels ignored distress calls during pirate attack

Chinese naval vessels ignored repeated distress calls from the 'Central Park' when it was under attack by suspected Somali pirates on Sunday, according to the Pentagon. The USS 'Mason' and allied ships, reportedly belonging to Japan, recovered the Israel-linked tanker. At least three People’s Liberation Army Navy ships in the area failed to heed the distress calls. The ships were there as part of a counter-piracy mission, but they did not respond. During the rescue operation, five armed hijackers attempted to flee in a small boat and were detained by the US Navy. Initial indications were that these five individuals are Somali. This was continued to be assessed that, as well as next steps in terms of the disposition of those five individuals. The 22 crew members of the Central Park were uninjured. The crew had been able to lock themselves into a safe room. The pirates attempted to access and take control of the ship. Concurrently with the attempted hijacking, two ballistic missiles were fired towards the USS 'Mason' from areas controlled by Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen. The missiles fell 10 nautical miles (11.5 statute miles) away from the vessel, causing no injuries or damage. The Zodiac Maritime ship management company, part of Israeli billionaire Eyal Ofer’s Zodiac Group, had called the attack on the Central Park “a suspected piracy incident.” “We would like to thank the coalition forces who responded quickly, protecting assets in the area and upholding international maritime law,” said Zodiac Maritime on Nov 27. The Turkish-captained vessel has a multinational crew consisting of Russian, Vietnamese, Bulgarian, Indian, Georgian and Filipino nationals and was carrying a cargo of phosphoric acid.

Five Somalis fled hijacked tanker and were apprehended

Five armed individuals from Somalia attacked the 'Central Park' in the Gulf of Aden. The US Defense Department was still assessing whether the attackers had any ties to the Houthi rebels in Yemen. he destroyer USS Mason and a number of allied ships from the nearby counter-piracy task force initially responded to the ship's distress calls that it was being attacked on Nov 26, 2023. Three Chinese navy vessels were also in the vicinity on a counter-piracy mission, but did not respond to the distress call. Once the coalition ships arrived, the task force demanded the release of the civilian vessel. The pirates then left the ship and fled aboard a small boat. The destroyer USS 'Mason' pursued, firing gunshots at the boat, but did not cause any injury. The U.S. Navy crew apprehended the attackers, who were taken aboard the USS 'Mason'. About 1,5 jours later, two ballistic missiles were fired from Houthi-controlled territory in Yemen toward the general location of the destroyer, The ship tracked the missiles, which landed harmlessly in the Gulf about 10 nautical miles away, but did not attempt to shoot them down. The DOD was still assessing whether the Mason was the intended target of the attack. If it was, the move would mark the first time Houthi rebels have deliberately targeted U.S. maritime forces with missiles in the Gulf since the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks on Israel.