FACT CHECK: No, Video Doesn’t Show Oil Tanker Attacked By Houthis

The video shows a vessel on fire near Oman. It has nothing to do with the recent Houthi attacks on commercial shipping in the Red Sea.

Fact Check:

The Houthis said it would not attack Chinese or Russian ships traveling through the Red Sea, according to AFP. The Houthis have continued to hit commercial vessels despite U.S. and U.K. airstrikes, Reuters reported.

Social media users have been sharing a video of a burning vessel, claiming it shows a British oil tanker. One user wrote, “Breaking: British oil tanker ablaze off the coast of Hodeidah, Yemen, following a missile strike! The situation is rapidly developing in the maritime region.” (RELATED: No, Joe Biden Did Not Plagiarize A Speech From Hillary Clinton)

This video, however, is not from the recent Houthi attacks. Through a reverse image search, Check Your Fact found the video is from December 2023 and was taken off the coast of Oman, not near the Red Sea passage. The Royal Oman Police shared the video on X.

احتراق لنش في المياه الإقليمية لسلطنة عمان قبالة سواحل نيابة حاسك بمحافظة ظفار، محمل بمجموعة من البضائع متّجهًا إلى جمهورية الصومال، وتم إجلاء طاقمه المكون من ١١ شخصاً من الجنسية الهندية عن طريق المواطنين وجميعهم بصحة جيدة مع إصابة أحدهم بإصابة بسيطة ونُقل لتلقي العلاج اللازم. pic.twitter.com/BZGHdHMsS9

— شرطة عُمان السلطانية (@RoyalOmanPolice) December 23, 2023

“A boat burned in the territorial waters of the Sultanate of Oman off the coast of the Hasik Niyabat in the Dhofar Governorate, loaded with a group of goods heading to the Republic of Somalia. Its crew, consisting of 11 people of Indian nationality, was evacuated by citizens, all of whom were in good health, with one of them sustaining a minor injury and being transported to receive the necessary treatment,” the tweet reads.

There is no evidence of a Houthi attack on a British oil tanker. If there had been an attack on a British commercial vessel, media outlets would have covered it, yet none have. The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations has not documented an incident involving a British oil tanker in Oman territorial waters, according to Logically Facts.

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