Pentagon official says Somalis, not Houthis, boarded Zodiac tanker

The alleged hijackers of a Zodiac Maritime tanker are believed to be Somalis rather than Houthis from Yemen, a US Defense Department official said.

Pentagon press secretary Brigadier General Pat Ryder told reporters that “initial indications” are that the five armed people being held on a US Navy warship for their role in the boarding of the 20,000-dwt Central Park (built 2015) are Somali.