Fire extinguished after Houthis hit tanker in Gulf of Aden

Fires on board a tanker operated on behalf of commodities firm Trafigura have been extinguished by crews, after the vessel was hit by a Houthi anti-ship missile in the Gulf of Aden.

"All crew on board the Marlin Luanda are safe and the fire in the cargo tank has been fully extinguished. The vessel is now sailing towards a safe harbour," Trafigura said in a statement on Saturday.  

It added that Indian, US and French navy vessels had helped in the firefighting efforts.

Yemen's Houthis have launched several drones and missile attacks on vessels in the Red Sea as an act of solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza.

Several hours after the incident on the Marlin Luanda, US forces destroyed a Houthi anti-ship missile that was aimed into the Red Sea and ready to launch, the US Central Command said in a statement.

The missile "presented an imminent threat to merchant vessels and the U.S. Navy ships in the region," it said.