(Dubai) A merchant ship was damaged and its crew slightly injured by a drone attack off the coast of Yemen, where Yemeni Houthi rebels are stepping up raids on merchant shipping, two maritime security agencies said on Sunday.
The Houthis, members of the “Axis of Resistance”, a grouping of movements supported by Iran and which includes the Palestinian Hamas and the Lebanese Hezbollah, have for months carried out attacks off the coast of Yemen against ships serving, according to them, Israel, saying it was acting in support of the Gaza Strip being bombed by the Israeli army.
Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree confirmed in a statement on Sunday that rebel forces had targeted two ships, one hit by “a direct strike”, the other “by a number of missiles from cruise “.
This latest attack occurred about 75 miles (120 km) west of the Yemeni port city of Hodeida, Britain’s maritime security agency UKMTO said.
“The captain of a merchant vessel reported being hit by a drone which caused damage to the vessel,” according to a statement from the agency, adding that “the vessel is heading to its next port of call.”
According to Ambrey, another maritime security agency, it is a bulk carrier flying the Liberian flag and belonging to Greece.
The Joint Maritime Information Center (JMIC), which monitors this strategic transit zone, said this was “the second time the ship had been targeted” after missiles were fired at it earlier in its journey in the Gulf of Aden.
“While transiting the Red Sea, the ship reported being hit […]. Several members of its crew suffered non-life-threatening injuries that did not require immediate medical attention,” the center said.
“JMIC has conducted an investigation and believes that this vessel was targeted due to other vessels belonging to the same company calling at ports in Israel.”
Later on Sunday, the UKMTO said it received a distress call from a second vessel off Yemen’s southeastern coast, which was taking on water without specifying the cause of the incident.
“This forced the crew to abandon ship. They were picked up by a vessel which provided assistance,” the UKMTO said in an incident report, adding that the flooded vessel “remains adrift.”
On Saturday, the US military, which carried out retaliatory strikes against the Houthis following their attacks on ships, said it had destroyed three nautical drones belonging to Yemeni rebels in the past 24 hours.
“The three drones were determined to pose an imminent threat to U.S., coalition forces and merchant shipping in the area,” it added.
The U.S. military also said rebels launched three anti-ship missiles into the Gulf of Aden, but no injuries or significant damage were reported.
Attacks in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, key maritime areas for global trade, have sent insurance costs soaring and prompted many shipping companies to sail through the southern tip of Africa , a much longer path.
In addition to attacks on ships, the Houthis have recently arrested more than a dozen aid workers, including UN employees, accusing them of being part of a “US-Israeli spy ring.”
