A ship was damaged by missile fire off the coast of Yemen, where Houthi rebels are increasing attacks on merchant shipping, the British maritime security company Ambrey said on Tuesday.
• Read also: Two explosions reported near ship off Yemen
• Read also: Houthis claim firing near commercial ship off Yemen
The ship was “targeted by three missiles about 54 nautical miles (about 100 km, editor’s note) southwest of Hodeida”, and issued a distress signal “indicating that the hold had been damaged and that it was filling water,” added Ambrey.
The British maritime safety agency UKMTO reported an “incident” in the Red Sea, without further details.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack.
Since November, Yemeni rebels, supported by Iran, have attacked ships in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, claiming to act in solidarity with the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, where Israel is at war with Islamist movement Hamas for almost eight months.
The United States, a close ally of Israel, set up a multinational force in December to protect navigation in this strategic area for world trade and launched strikes in Yemen in January, with the help of the United Kingdom. against the rebels.
But these strikes have not deterred the Houthis, who control large swathes of territory and say they are now also targeting American and British ships.
On Monday, the US military Middle East Command (Centcom) said it had destroyed a drone launched by the Houthis, which “represented an imminent threat to merchant ships in the region”.
Hours earlier, the rebels had claimed to have carried out three operations against commercial ships and two against American warships, but these attacks were not confirmed by other sources.
On Friday, they targeted the bulk carrier Yannis of Eastern Mediterranean Maritime, a Greek company which, according to them, serves Israeli ports.
This attack caused no casualties or damage, according to maritime security agencies.
