DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Two suspected attacks by… Houthi rebels in Yemen Ships were targeted in the Red Sea on Monday, New US aircraft carrier The United States has been deployed to the region to provide security for a key international trade route that has been under attack since the war between Israel and Hamas broke out nine months ago.
The UK Maritime Trade Operations Centre said the captain of the first targeted ship reported being attacked by three small vessels off the coast of Hodeidah in Yemen, adding that two of the vessels were manned and one was unmanned.
The UK Maritime Authority said the “unmanned small craft rammed the vessel twice and the two manned small craft fired at the vessel”. The authority added that “the vessel took self-protection measures and after 15 minutes the small craft called off the attack”.
The captain later reported that two separate waves of missile attacks occurred, about 45 minutes apart, and exploded close to the ship.
Later on Monday, in a separate incident also off the coast of Hodeidah, the UK Maritime and Trade Organisation reported that a ship was attacked by a suspected Houthi drone, which “impacted the port side causing some damage and light smoke.”
The UK Maritime Authority said in a warning to mariners that both ships and all crew were safe. The names and flags of the vessels were not immediately known.
The Houthis did not immediately comment on the two incidents, but it may take hours or even days before they admit to carrying out the attack.
USS Theodore Roosevelt aircraft carrier approaches Middle East to replace USS Dwight D. Eisenhower, Which spent months in the Red Sea confronting the Houthis.
US Central Command said in a statement on Sunday that its forces destroyed two Houthi drones and an unmanned surface vessel in the Red Sea.
The rebels have targeted more than 70 ships with missiles and drones in their campaign, killing four sailors. One ship was captured. And Two drowned Since November.
In June, the number of Houthi attacks on commercial shipping rose to levels not seen since December, according to the Joint Maritime Information Center, a coalition overseen by the U.S. Navy. U.S.-led airstrikes have targeted the Houthis since January, hitting commercial vessels and merchant ships. May 30th Strike Series The rebels said the clashes killed at least 16 people and wounded 42 others.
The Houthis insist their attacks target ships linked to Israel, the United States or Britain, as part of the rebels’ support for the militant group Hamas in its war against Israel. However, many of the ships attacked have little or no connection to the war — including some bound for Iran, which backs the Houthis.
Last week, the Houthis said they fired missiles at a U.S.-flagged container ship in the Gulf of Aden, in what authorities acknowledged was the rebels’ longest-range attack yet on a U.S.-flagged vessel near the Arabian Sea. The joint investigation identified the ship as the Maersk Sentosa. Maersk, a Danish company that is the world’s largest shipping company, confirmed to The Associated Press that its ship was targeted.
“Lifelong food lover. Avid beeraholic. Zombie fanatic. Passionate travel practitioner.”