Video of carrier ship on fire does not show missile strike on British tanker off Yemen coast

What’s the claim?

A video clip showing a vessel on fire at sea is widely being shared across social media platforms with the false claims it shows a British oil tanker ablaze following a missile attack by Houthis off the coast of Hodeidah in Yemen. The clip was shared on X (formerly Twitter) with the caption, “BREAKING: British oil tanker ablaze off the coast of Hodeidah, Yemen, following a missile strike! The situation is rapidly developing in the maritime region.” The post gained significant traction with over 1 million views and 5,000 reposts. Archived versions of such posts can be found here and here.

The video has also gained traction on Facebook and TikTok with the same narrative. Archived versions of the posts can be accessed here and here.

Logically Facts found the ship in the video is a vessel that caught fire off the Oman coast en route to the Republic of Somalia.

Screenshot of claims made online. (Source: X/Facebook/Modified by Logically Facts)

What we found

The viral video contains a watermark with Oman Police’s X and YouTube channel at the bottom of the frame. Following this, we found the same video posted on the Oman Police X account on December 23, 2023.

The caption, translated from Arabic to English, reads, “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 Times of Oman reported that the vessel caught fire in the territorial waters of the Sultanate of Oman, near the Hasik Niyabat coast in Dhofar Governorate. Crew members consisting of 11 Indian nationals were rescued and evacuated in good health.

Screenshot of the news report. (Source: The Times of Oman)

However, none of the news reports suggested that the incident involved a Houthi attack or a British oil tanker. The vessel that caught fire was a cargo ship in Oman's waters.

The verdict

The vessel in question is not an oil tanker, and the incident did not occur off the Yemeni coast. It was a cargo ship en route to Somalia and there is no evidence supporting Houthi or terrorist involvement. Therefore, we mark this claim as false.