DUBAI: Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels claimed an attack Thursday targeting a merchant ship in the Red Sea, which two British maritime security agencies said caused no casualties.
The Houthis have targeted dozens of vessels since November in a campaign they say is intended to show solidarity with Palestinians during the Gaza war, and has disrupted global shipping.
The latest attack, which took place west of the port city of Hodeida, was carried out using a seaborne improvised explosive device, said United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations.
The crew and the vessel were safe and proceeding to the next port of call, said UKMTO, which is run by Britain’s Royal Navy.
Ambrey, a maritime risk management group, said earlier “a merchant vessel reported having been ‘hit’ by a projectile” as it headed to the Saudi port of Dammam.
“The vessel was transiting south along the Red Sea when she issued a distress call,” it said.
Houthis claim attack on merchant ship in Red Sea off Yemen
Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree said in a statement that the vessel, Seajoy, was targeted with an “uncrewed surface boat and a number of missiles and drones”.
It was targeted for violations of the Huthi “ban” on visiting “the ports of occupied Palestine by the company that owns the ship”, Saree added.
Earlier this week a missile hit in “close proximity” to a vessel transiting south of the Yemeni port city of Aden, UKMTO said.
The ship proceeded on its journey with no reports of casualties or damage, said the maritime agency.
The Joint Maritime Information Center identified the vessel as the Lila Lisbon, a Saint Kitts and Nevis-flagged bulk carrier.
“The vessel was not hit and all crew on board are safe,” said the agency overseen by the US Navy.
The United States in December announced a maritime security initiative to protect Red Sea shipping from Houthi attacks, which have forced commercial vessels to divert from the route that normally carries 12 percent of global trade.
Since January the United States and Britain have also launched repeated strikes on Houthi targets in Yemen in response to the ship attacks.
On Thursday, US military forces destroyed one Houthi radar site in a rebel-run part of Yemen, US Central Command said on social media platform X.
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