Two Navy SEALs are missing off the coast of Somalia after one of them slipped while climbing a ladder to try and board a ship
- Two Navy SEALs were on an interdiction mission and climbing onto a ship when one was capsized by high waves in rough seas on Saturday, officials said
- According to protocol: if a SEAL falls overboard, the next one jumps in after him. Both are still missing and a search and rescue mission is underway
- The SEALs have not yet been identified and it is not clear which ship they tried to board or why
Two Navy SEALs are missing off the coast of Somalia after one of them slipped while trying to climb a ladder aboard a ship.
According to US officials, the soldiers were on an interdiction mission and climbing into a ship when a ship was capsized by high waves in rough seas on Saturday.
According to their protocol, if a SEAL falls overboard, the next one jumps after them.
Both are still missing and a search and rescue mission is underway.
The SEALs have not yet been identified and it is not clear which ship they tried to board or why.
Two Navy SEALs are missing off the coast of Somalia after one of them slipped while trying to climb a ladder aboard a ship
According to US officials, the soldiers were on an interdiction mission and climbing into a ship when a ship was capsized by high waves in rough seas on Saturday. Depicted Navy SEALs on a mission
The US Navy has conducted regular interdiction missions, intercepting weapons on ships bound for Houthi-controlled Yemen.
Sometimes they board ships to ensure they have the correct paperwork and are not transporting illegal goods.
The mission was not related to Operation Prosperity Guardian, the ongoing U.S. and international mission to provide protection for commercial vessels in the Red Sea, or the retaliatory strikes carried out by the United States and United Kingdom in Yemen over the past two days. an official said Saturday.
It was also not related to Iran’s seizure of the St. Nikolas oil tanker, a third U.S. official said.
The US Navy has conducted regular interdiction missions, intercepting weapons on ships bound for Houthi-controlled Yemen.
The sources spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss details that have not yet been made public.
In addition to defending ships against launched drones and missiles fired from Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen, the U.S. military has also come to the aid of commercial ships that have been targeted by piracy.
On Saturday, U.S. Central Command said in a statement that search and rescue operations were underway to locate the two sailors.
The command said it would not release any additional information about Thursday night’s incident until the personnel recovery mission is complete.
The Sailors were forward deployed to the U.S. 5th Fleet area of operations supporting a wide range of missions.