Central Command News

On March 12, Havariekommando, Germany’s Central Command for Maritime Emergencies (CCME), held a naming ceremony for its latest vessel, a Damen Multi Cat (MuC) 2309. The vessel, named Lütt Matten, will operate out of Sassnitz on the Baltic island of Rügen, providing emergency response capabilities. Havariekommando is responsible for performing maritime emergency management in the German Baltic and North Seas. The Damen MuC 2309 is a versatile vessel providing the capability to perform a wide range of duties including transport, monitoring and oil spill recovery.

The U.S. will provide reinsurance for losses up to $20 billion in the Gulf region, to help provide confidence for oil and gas shippers during the war on Iran, the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation said on Friday.President Donald Trump on Tuesday ordered the DFC to provide political risk insurance and financial guarantees for maritime trade in the Gulf after oil and liquefied natural gas tanker transit had ground to a halt in the Strait of Hormuz waterway off Iran…

The U.S. and Israeli air war against Iran widened on Monday, with no end in sight as Israel attacked Lebanon in response to strikes by Hezbollah and Tehran kept up its missile and drone attacks on Gulf states that host U.S. military bases.U.S. President Donald Trump said the operation could continue for some weeks and that it was unclear who was in charge in Iran, following the targeted killing of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in the opening hours of the U.S.-Israel campaign over the weekend.The attack on Iran has pitched the Gulf into war…

Officer Lee Tae Young, a first mate from the Republic of Korea, has been awarded the IMO Award for Exceptional Bravery at Sea, in recognition of his heroic actions that saved 12 fellow crew members from the Geum Seong No. 135 when it sunk in November 2024. He was honored during a special ceremony recognizing seafarers held in London on November 24, 2025, in the margins of the IMO Assembly taking place from November 24 to December 3, 2025. IMO Secretary-General Mr. Arsenio Dominguez applauded Mr.

Iran warned a U.S. destroyer on Wednesday to change course after it approached waters being monitored by the Islamic Republic, leading the U.S. ship to turn away, Iranian state media reported.The U.S. Navy and U.S. Central Command, which overseas U.S. forces in the Middle East, had no immediate comment on the report.The reported incident follows U.S. strikes last month on Iranian nuclear facilities that Washington says were part of a program geared towards developing nuclear weapons. Tehran maintains that its nuclear programme is for purely civilian purposes."U.S.

Commercial ships still sailing through the Red Sea are broadcasting messages about their nationality and even religion on their public tracking systems to avoid being targeted by Yemen's Houthis after deadly attacks this week by the militia.The Red Sea is a critical waterway for oil and commodities but traffic has dropped sharply since Houthi attacks off Yemen's coast began in November 2023 in what the Iran-aligned group said was in solidarity with Palestinians in the Gaza war.The…

A Yemeni Houthi official said on Sunday that the Iran-aligned group's response to the U.S. attack on Iran was "only a matter of time."Mohammed al-Bukhaiti, a member of the Houthi movement's political bureau, told Al Jazeera Mubasher TV that its ceasefire deal with Washington was before the "war" on Iran.The group has been launching attacks on shipping lanes and Israel in what it says is in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza during the Israeli war. It agreed on a ceasefire deal with the United States in May to stop attacking U.S.

A tugboat has stopped a tanker carrying around 99,000 metric tons of oil from Russia from drifting out of control off Germany's Baltic Sea coast near the island of Ruegen, emergency services said on Friday.The 274-metre (899-foot) Panama-flagged tanker, called Eventin, and travelling from Russia to Egypt, had been drifting slowly and unable to manoeuvre since earlier on Friday, Germany's Central Command for Maritime Emergencies said.A tugboat was holding it in position and others were en route, CCME said, adding it was evaluating next steps. Evacuation of the 24-member crew was not necessary, it said."Russia endangers our European security not only with its illegal war of aggression against Ukraine but also through severed cables ...

The U.S. military said it carried out 15 strikes on Friday against targets linked to Iran-aligned Houthi fighters in Yemen, where residents reported blasts at military outposts and even an airport.Central Command, which oversees U.S. forces in the Middle East, said the targets were tied to Houthi offensive military capabilities, but did not detail whether that included missile, drone or radar capabilities.In a post on X, Central Command said the strikes took place at about 1400…

Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebels attacked two crude oil tankers - the Saudi-flagged Amjad and the Panama-flagged Blue Lagoon I - in the Red Sea on Monday, the U.S. military said, calling the assaults "reckless acts of terrorism".The Houthis late on Monday claimed responsibility for targeting the Blue Lagoon with multiple missiles and drones but did not make any mention of the Saudi tanker.The U.S. Central Command said the Houthis attacked the two tankers with two ballistic missiles and a one-way attack uncrewed aerial system…

A U.S. federal court has charged three men, including two Iranian brothers and a Pakistani national, for an attempt to smuggle Iranian weapons that would be used by Houthi rebels for attacks on maritime shipping.According to the court documents, Shahab Mir’kazei and Yunus Mir’kazei work for Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, while Muhammad Pahlawan, is a Pakistani citizen who allegedly worked for the Mir’kazei brothers as the captain of a dhow used as a smuggling vessel.Pahlawan allegedly worked with Shahab to prepare the dhow for multiple smuggling voyages…

A crude oil tanker has reported four attacks off Yemen's port of Mokha during the last 24 hours, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations agency said on Friday, and the vessel's manager said the ship and its crew were safe.Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthi militants have launched attacks on international shipping in the Red Sea region since November in solidarity with Palestinians in the war between Israel and Hamas.On Thursday, the captain of the Delta Blue tanker reported that…

U.S. military forces have struck at targets in Houthi-controlled Yemen in the past 24 hours, destroying two drones, a Houthi ground control station, and three anti-ship cruise missiles, the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) said.Earlier, the Iran-aligned Houthi movement said it had attacked a container ship in the Red Sea and two U.S. destroyers in the Gulf of Aden on Wednesday.CENTCOM said in a statement on the U.S strikes: "These weapons presented a clear and imminent threat to U.S.

The U.S. military announced on Wednesday that its mission to install and operate a temporary, floating pier off the coast of Gaza was complete, formally ending an extraordinary but troubled effort to bring humanitarian aid to Palestinians.The pier, announced by President Joe Biden during a televised address to Congress in March, was a massive endeavor that took about 1,000 U.S. forces to execute. Aid began flowing via the pier to Gaza in May, an operation aimed at helping avert…

Yemen's Houthis said on Sunday they had conducted two military operations, one in the Gulf of Aden and one in Eilat at the southern tip of Israel.Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree said the group had targeted the Israeli ship MSC UNIFIC in the Gulf of Aden with ballistic missiles and drones in addition to attacking military targets in Eilat with drones.The spokesperson said that the latest Houthi military operations came in response to the Israeli airstrike on Khan Younis on Saturday…

U.S. forces destroyed three Iranian-backed Houthi uncrewed surface vessels in the Red Sea in the past 24 hours, the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) said on Saturday.Separately, the Houthis launched three anti-ship ballistic missiles into the Gulf of Aden but there were no injuries or significant damage reported by U.S., coalition, or merchant vessels, CENTCOM added.The U.S. military's Central Command also dismissed as "categorically false" recent claims about a successful attack by Houthi forces on the aircraft carrier Dwight D.

Yemen's Houthis said on Sunday that they had attacked two civilian ships along with an American destroyer in the Red Sea and Arabian Sea, their latest effort to disrupt shipping in what they say is support for Palestinians in Gaza.In a statement, the Houthi military spokesperson, Yahya Saree, said the militant group fired ballistic missiles at the American destroyer, naval missiles at a ship called the Captain Paris, and drones at a ship called the Happy Condor. It was not clear…

The U.S. military said on Thursday it destroyed two Houthi patrol boats, one uncrewed surface vessel and one drone over the Red Sea in its latest effort to degrade the capabilities of the Iran-backed group.The Houthis, who control the most populous areas of Yemen, targeted the Verbena in the Arabian Sea as well as the Seaguardian and Athina in the Red Sea, the Iran-aligned group's military spokesman Yahya Saree said in a televised speech earlier on Thursday.The attack on the Palau-flagged Verbena cargo ship sparked a fire and severely injured one of her crew, U.S.

Missiles fired by Yemen's Houthi militants struck the Palau-flagged Verbena cargo ship in the Gulf of Aden on Thursday, sparking a fire and severely injuring one of her crew, U.S. Central Command said.The Iran-allied Houthis have launched dozens of attacks on international shipping in the Red Sea region since November in solidarity with the Palestinians in the war between Israel and Hamas.Thursday's attack marked their second direct hit on a merchant ship in two days, and the…

U.S. forces on Saturday destroyed one Iran-backed Houthi uncrewed aerial system in the southern Red Sea and saw two others crash into Red Sea, U.S. Central Command said.The Central Command forces also destroyed two Houthi anti-ship ballistic missiles fired in direction of the USS Gravely, it said. No injuries or damage were reported by U.S., coalition or commercial ships, it said.(Reuters - Reporting by Timothy Gardner; Editing by William Mallard)

Yemen's Houthis launched a missile attack in the direction of the U.S. aircraft carrier Eisenhower in the Red Sea in response to U.S. and British strikes on Yemen, the Iranian-backed group's military spokesperson Yahya Saree said on Friday.A U.S. defense official told Reuters they were not aware of any attack on the Eisenhower.Six U.S. and British strikes have killed 16 people and wounded 41, including civilians, Saree said in a televised statement.Strikes on the province of Hodeidah targetedthe port of Salif…

Heavy seas battered the U.S. maritime humanitarian mission to Gaza on Saturday, U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) said, with four vessels serving a floating aid delivery pier breaking free from their moorings.No injuries were reported and the aid pier remains fully functional, CENTCOM said in a statement, adding that no U.S.

Yemen's Houthis launched attacks on three ships in the Red Sea, Mediterranean Sea and Arabian Sea, the Iran-aligned group said on Friday, although the manager of the ship allegedly attacked in the Mediterranean said there was no sign of such an incident.The reported attacks are the latest in a months-long campaign of Houthi strikes against regional shipping in what the group says is solidarity with Palestinians fighting Israel in the Gaza war.The Houthis' military spokesman Yahya Sarea said in a televised speech that Houthi forces had targeted the Yannis ship in the Red Sea…