Yemen’s Houthis attack two ships in Red Sea with drone boat, missile

Yemen’s Houthi rebels launched an explosive-loaded drone that crashed into one ship today in the Red Sea and a missile that exploded against another.

The first attack took place some 110 kilometers (70 miles) off the port city of Hodeida and targeted the Panama-flagged oil tanker Cordelia Moon, the multinational Joint Maritime Information Center says. A captain on a ship saw four “splashes” near the vessel, the center overseen by the US Navy says. That likely would have been missiles launched at the vessel that missed.

The drone boat later damaged the Cordelia Moon, which sustained a puncture to one of its ballast tanks in the attack. Those tanks control a ship’s buoyancy. Houthi strikes in the past have targeted ships at their waterline to disable the vessels.

Drone boats have been increasingly used by the Houthis. The ship had been heading north to the Suez Canal with armed private security guards aboard, the private security firm Ambrey says.

Another attack with a missile targeted a separate ship also heading north to the Suez Canal with armed security on board, Ambrey says.

Houthi military spokesperson Brig. Gen. Yahya Saree later claims the two attacks in a prerecorded message. He names the second vessel, though it does not match against another name circulated by private security officials. The discrepancy could not be immediately reconciled.