Two ships catch fire after apparent Houthi missile strikes off Yemen’s Aden
No casualties reported in separate attacks; rebels do not immediately claim responsibility
Two ships caught fire after being hit by projectiles off Yemen’s Aden, two UK maritime agencies reported on Sunday.
The British security firm Ambrey said on Sunday that an Antigua and Barbuda-flagged general cargo ship was struck by a missile 83 nautical miles southeast of Aden and caught fire. The fire was later contained.
Earlier, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said it had received a report from the captain of a vessel of an incident 80 nautical miles southeast of Aden.
“The ship was heading southwest along the Gulf of Aden at a speed of 8.2 knots when the forward station was struck by a missile. A fire started but was neutralized,” Ambrey said in an advisory note.
“A second missile was sighted but did not hit the ship. Persons on board small boats in the vicinity opened fire on the ship during the incident.”
Ambrey said the ship changed course to port and increased speed, adding that “no injuries were reported.”
Separately, Ambrey and UKMTO said they had received a report about another incident 70 nautical miles southwest of Aden.
“The master reports that the vessel was hit by an unknown projectile on the aft section, which resulted in a fire. Damage control is underway,” UKMTO said in an advisory note.
They added that no casualties were reported and the vessel was proceeding to its next port of call.
Suspicion for the attack immediately fell on the Iran-backed Houthi rebels. The rebels did not immediately claim the assault, though it can sometimes take hours or even days for them to acknowledge their attacks.
The Houthis, who control the most populous parts of Yemen, have attacked ships off its coast for months, saying they are acting in solidarity with Palestinians amid the ongoing Israel-Hamas war in Gaza, which broke out after the terror group launched a devastating shock assault on southern Israel.
Houthi fighters have launched drone and missile attacks in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait and the Gulf of Aden, forcing shippers since November to take longer and more costly journeys around southern Africa.
The United States and Britain have carried out strikes against Houthi targets in response to the attacks.
The Houthis have launched more than 50 attacks on shipping, killed three sailors, seized one vessel, and sunk another since November, according to the US Maritime Administration. A US-led airstrike campaign has targeted the Houthis since January, with a series of strikes on May 30 killing at least 16 people and wounding 42 others, the rebels say.
But while gaining more attention internationally, the secretive group has cracked down on dissent at home. Eleven Yemeni employees of United Nations agencies and others working for aid groups have been detained by the Houthis under unclear circumstances, as the rebels face increasing financial pressure and airstrikes from the US-led coalition. The rebels also recently sentenced 44 people to death.
