A Greek tanker was hit by a missile launched by Houthi rebels off the coast of Yemen, the US Middle East Military Command (Centcom) said on Saturday.
“At approximately 1 a.m. (Sanaa time), the Iran-backed Houthis launched an anti-ship ballistic missile into the Red Sea, which hit the M/T Wind, a Panama-flagged oil tanker owned and operated by a Greek company”, he indicated on his X account.
According to Centcom, the ship had recently docked in Russia and was heading towards China.
The attack caused flooding, leading to “loss of propulsion and piloting”, and a ship from the coalition set up by the United States to secure the Red Sea “immediately responded to the M /T Wind,” he continued.
But “no assistance was necessary”, as the crew was able to regain control and the ship continued on its way, according to Centcom, which specified that no casualties had been reported.
The attack occurred off the coast of the Yemeni town of Mokha, British security firm Ambrey reported earlier.
The British maritime security agency UKMTO also indicated that a ship had “suffered light damage after being hit by an unidentified projectile” 98 nautical miles south of the city of Hodeidah, controlled by Yemeni rebels.
The Houthis have carried out dozens of drone and missile strikes against ships in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden since November, disrupting global maritime trade in the strategic area.
Allies of Iran, they say they are acting in solidarity with the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, where Israel is waging war against Hamas after the unprecedented attack by the Palestinian Islamist movement on October 7 on Israeli soil.
Faced with these attacks, the United States, a close ally of Israel, set up a multinational force in December to protect navigation in the Red Sea and launched strikes in Yemen in January, with the help of the United Kingdom. against the Houthi rebels, who say they also target American and British ships.
