The containership Maersk Gibraltar has become the third ship in the past few days to be targeted by a Houthi missile attack.
A ballistic missile was fired from a Houthi-controlled area of Yemen towards the international shipping lane north of the Bab-el-Mandeb, US Central Command reported.
The missile missed the 2016-built Hong Kong-flagged cargo container vessel, and no injuries or damage were reported.
The Houthis earlier claimed it carried out a military operation against a Maersk container vessel, directly hitting it with a drone.
The spokesperson for the Yemeni armed forces Yahya Sare’e late on Thursday said the Yemeni armed forces had hit the Maersk container vessel with a drone.
Yahya Sare’e, confirmed the incident in a statement yesterday, mentioning that “The naval forces of the Yemeni Armed Forces carried out a military operation against the “Maersk Gebrelater” container ship, which was en route to the Israeli entity.”
“It was targeted by a drone and the hit was accurate,” he said.
Yahya Sare’e also pointed out that “during the last 48 hours, Yemeni armed forces were successful in preventing the passage of multiple ships heading to the Israeli entity.”
Later on Thursday, the U.S. Central Command confirmed that the attack, which it said was carried out by a ballistic missile, did not cause any injuries or damages.
“Following the missile launch, the M/V Maersk Gibraltar was hailed by the Houthis, who threatened further missile attacks. While this incident did not involve US Forces, we continue to closely monitor the situation. These attacks continue to threaten international maritime security,” it was also said.
Separately, Britain’s Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) reported that has received a report of an incident in the vicinity of the Bab El Mandeb, and that authorities are investigating.
The UKMTO advised ships to transit with caution and report any suspicious activity.
Earlier this week a tanker in the southern Red Sea was fired on by gunmen in a speedboat and targeted with missiles, the latest incident to threaten the shipping lane after Yemeni Houthi forces warned ships not to travel to Israel.
U.S. Central Command reported on Thursday that the guided-missile destroyer Mason responded to a mayday call from the Marshall Islands-flagged tanker motor vessel Ardmore Encounter, which was under attack from Houthi forces.
It is said to had been launched from the Houthi-controlled area in Yemen. These forces first attempted to board the tanker via skiffs.
When this was unsuccessful, a pair of missiles were fired from Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen at the vessel, which both missed. As it is reported, there were no injuries to personnel and no damage to any vessels, whilst the tanker Ardmore Encounter was able to proceed without further incident.
