Ship targeted by 2 suspected missiles from Yemen’s Houthis as oil tanker burns

Two missiles suspected to have been fired by Yemen’s Houthi rebels targeted a ship in the Gulf of Aden late Friday, splashing down nearby without causing any damage, authorities say.

The attack comes after the Houthis repeatedly assaulted and then boarded a Greek-flagged oil tanker in the nearby Red Sea, planting explosives on it they later detonated. That attack, the worst in weeks, risked a major oil spill as the rebels’ campaign disrupts the $1 trillion in goods that pass through the Red Sea each year over the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip, as well as halting some aid shipments to conflict-ravaged Sudan and Yemen.

The attack Friday saw two missiles “exploding in close proximity to the vessel” some 240 kilometers (150 miles) east of Aden, the British military’s United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations center says.

The ship “reports all crew are safe and proceeding to next port of call,” the UKMTO says. “Investigations are ongoing.”