Houthi missile hits Swiss ship, causing damage, US says

The US Central Command says an anti-ship ballistic missile fired by Yemen’s Houthi rebels hit the container vessel M/V MSC SKY II in the Gulf of Aden causing “damage.”

“Initial reports indicate there were no injuries; the ship did not request assistance and continued on its way,” Centcom adds in a statement released on Tuesday.

March 4 Red Sea Update

On Mar. 4, at approximately 2:15a.m. (Sanaa time), Iranian-backed Houthi terrorists fired an anti-ship ballistic missile from Yemen into the southern Red Sea. The missile impacted the water with no reported damage or injuries to commercial or U.S. Navy… pic.twitter.com/mqigHoON4b

— U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) March 5, 2024

A second missile fired by the Houthis missed the Liberian-flagged ship, owned by Swiss shipping giant MSC, Centcom says.

The container ship was traveling from Singapore, according to marine tracking data, which shows its last location as some 120 kilometers (80 miles) from the port of Aden in Yemen.

The attack, at around 4 a.m. Sanaa time, came about two hours after another missile was fired into the southern Red Sea, the military says.

It adds that the US Navy conducted “self-defense strikes against two anti-ship cruise missiles that presented an imminent threat to merchant vessels and U.S. Navy ships in the region.”

In January, MSC said it was not transiting the Red Sea due to danger to its vessels.