An explosion occurred on board the LPG tanker “Falcon” at the weekend. The ship has been drifting in the Gulf of Aden on fire ever since.
The liquefied gas tanker “Falcon” caught fire in the Gulf of Aden on Saturday after an explosion occurred on board. Two Indian seamen are missing.
At the time of the incident, the vessel, which is operated by Indian Tanker Expert Ship Management, was about 60 nm southwest of the Yemeni city of Ahwar. The crew reported an explosion and made a distress call. The Ukrainian captain and 23 Indian crew members were able to abandon the “Falcon” and were rescued by a nearby ship. As part of the EU operation ASPIDES, it was then escorted to Djibouti by the Greek frigate “Spetsai”.
Two crew members are still missing; one of the sailors is said to still be on board the ship. French air forces and Greek naval units have joined the search and rescue operation in the region.
The maritime security company Ambrey announced that the “Falcon” was on a voyage from Sohar (Oman) to Djibouti. The explosion was presumably not connected to Huthi attacks. The Huthi themselves also denied involvement in the incident; initial assessments assume a technical cause.
According to ship data, it is possible that the “Falcon” was transporting Iranian LPG to Yemen. The tanker, which was built in 1994 and flies the Cameroon flag, has been on the United Against Nuclear Iran list since 2022 due to suspected sanctions evasion and is listed as part of the Iranian shadow fleet.
According to initial reports, around 15% of the ship was on fire after the explosion. The “Falcon” is currently still drifting in the Gulf of Aden. Ships transiting the area have been advised to proceed with caution. A private salvage company has been contracted to salvage the stricken vessel.
