Chinese naval vessels ignored repeated distress calls from an Israeli-owned commercial tanker that was under attack on Sunday, the Pentagon said on Monday.
The USS Mason and allied ships—reportedly belonging to Japan—recovered the Israel-linked Central Park tanker, which an “unknown entity” hijacked in the Gulf of Aden off the coast of Yemen, US Central Command (CENTCOM) confirmed on Monday.
Concurrently to 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 22-member crew of the Central Park was uninjured, according to CENTCOM.
During the rescue operation, five armed hijackers attempted to flee in a small boat and were detained by the US Navy.
Pentagon Press Secretary Brig Gen Pat Ryder confirmed that at least three People’s Liberation Army Navy ships in the area failed to heed the distress calls.
“So, my understanding is there were three PLA Navy ships in the vicinity. However, they did not respond. Supposedly, those ships are there as part of a counter-piracy mission, but they did not respond,” said Ryder.
“If there’s a vessel that’s hailing a distress signal and all vessels in the vicinity should–are required to come and help and support,” he added. “Clearly, a piracy-related incident in that this vessel was boarded by these five individuals. They attempted to access the crew cabin,” said Ryder. “The crew essentially were able to lock themselves into a safe haven. These individuals attempted to access and take control of the ship. But when the combined task force responded, they essentially fled,” he added.
