Old Huthi attack photo falsely portrayed as 'Maersk ship on fire in July 2024'

"Attack on a US-flagged vessel in the Gulf of Aden. A Spokesperson at Denmark's shipping company Maersk said: There was an attack targeted on one of the company's US-flagged vessels at the northernmost part of the Gulf of Aden," read the Thai-language caption to the picture shared on Facebook on July 9, 2024.

It shows fire engulfing a shipping vessel named "Arlin Luanda".

Image

Screenshot of the false post taken on July 15, 2024

The post surfaced after Maersk said one of its vessels called the Maersk Sentosa was "targeted by a flying object in the northernmost part of the Gulf of Aden" on July 9 (archived link).

"No injuries to the crew or damage to the ship or cargo were reported," the company added.

The Huthis, who control much of Yemen, have been targeting vessels in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden since November 2023 in attacks they say are in solidarity with Palestinians during the ongoing Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip.

The United States and Britain have carried out strikes in Yemen aimed at degrading the Iran-backed rebels' ability to carry out the attacks. There is also an international military effort to intercept drones and missiles fired at ships.

The war in Gaza began with Hamas's unprecedented October 7 attack on Israel which resulted in the deaths of 1,195 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli figures.

Israel responded with a military offensive that has killed at least 38,790 people, also mostly civilians, according to figures from the Gaza health ministry.

The picture was also shared on Facebook and TikTok alongside a similar claim it shows a Maersk vessel attacked in July.

Misrepresented photo

But a combination of reverse image and keyword searches on Google found the picture earlier published on social media site X on the official account of the spokesperson for the Indian Navy (archived link).

Its caption read in part: "#IndianNavy's Guided missile destroyer, #INSVisakhapatnam, deployed in the #GulfofAden responded to a distress call from MV #MarlinLuanda on the night of #26Jan 24."

Below is a screenshot comparison of the picture in one of the false posts (left) and the one posted on X by the Indian Navy (right):

Image

Screenshot comparison of the picture in one of the false posts (left) and the one posted on X by the Indian Navy (right)

AFP reported at the time that a Huthi spokesman said missiles fired by the rebels had hit the Marlin Luanda, an oil tanker operated by a British firm on behalf of trading giant Trafigura Group.

The US military's Central Command later confirmed the hit, saying it had started a "major fire". It said US, Indian and French navies responded to extinguish the fire (archived link).

The picture was also published in reports about the Marlin Luanda fire by The Associated Press news agency and the British newspaper The Guardian (archived links here and here).

AFP has debunked more misinformation around the Huthi attacks.