Ship struck, taking on water in Red Sea after presumed Houthi attack

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — A ship came under attack Tuesday in the Red Sea off the coast of Yemen, with a private security firm saying radio traffic suggested the vessel took on water after being struck.

No group immediately claimed responsibility, but suspicion immediately fell on Yemen’s Houthi rebels, who have launched a campaign of attacks on international shipping in the name of solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza amid Israel’s war with the Hamas terror group.

Few further details were immediately available about the Tuesday attack, which was reported by the British military’s United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations center. It happened off the port city of Hodeida in the southern Red Sea, near the Bab el-Mandeb Strait that links it to the Gulf of Aden.

The private security firm Ambrey said the vessel reported by radio of having “sustained damage to the cargo hold and was taking on water.” It said it had been targeted in a missile attack.

The location of the attack corresponded to the Marshall Islands-flagged bulk carrier Laax. The vessel reported being heading to Fujairah in the United Arab Emirates.

The Laax is managed by the Grehel Ship Management of Piraeus, Greece. A man who answered the phone at Grehel declined to answer questions about the attack and an emailed request for comment was not returned.

The Houthis, an Islamist militia backed by Iran that controls large swathes of Yemen, have launched more than 50 attacks, seized one vessel, and sunk another since November, according to the United States Maritime Administration.

US and allied forces have responded with airstrikes on Houthi targets in Yemen as well as interceptions of Houthi drones and missiles. An international coalition began to send limited forces into the Red Sea in December in an effort to secure shipping.

Speaking Tuesday in Dubai, the prime minister of Yemen’s exiled, internationally recognized government urged the world to see past the Houthis’ claims of backing the Palestinians through their attacks.

“The Houthis’ exploitation of a very just cause such as the cause of our people in Palestine and what is happening in Gaza is to escape the benefits of peace and lead us to major complications that exist,” Ahmed Awad bin Mubarak told the Arab Media Forum.

“Peace is a strategic choice. We must reach peace. The war must stop. This is a must. Our people need security and stability. The region itself needs stability.”