One of two anti-ship ballistic missiles fired by Yemen’s Houthis at the container vessel M/V MSC SKY II in the Gulf of Aden hit the ship and caused “damage”, the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) said on Tuesday.
However, the Indian navy reported that the vessel transiting approximately 90 Nm South East of Aden was reported on fire due to drone/ missile attack.
A specialised firefighting team of 12 personnel from INS Kolkata embarked the vessel early morning hours of March 5 to assist in firefighting efforts.
Initial reports indicated no injuries, and the Liberian-flagged, Swiss-owned container vessel did not request assistance and continued on its way, CENTCOM added in a statement.
The US Centcom also reported that Houthis fired an anti-ship ballistic missile from Yemen into the southern Red Sea. The missile impacted the water with no reported damage or injuries to commercial or U.S. Navy ships.
CENTCOM forces conducted “self-defence” strikes against two anti-ship cruise missiles that presented “an imminent threat” to merchant vessels and U.S. Navy ships in the region, the statement added.
Houthi spokesperson of the Yemeni armed forces Yahya Saree confirmed the attack on X (former twitter) mentioning that the “naval forces of the Yemeni armed forces carried out a targeting operation against an Israeli ship “MSC SKY” in the Arabian Sea with a number of suitable naval missiles.”
“The targeting operation came only hours after carrying out a qualitative operation during which the missile force and unmanned air force launched a number of ballistic missiles and drones at a number of enemy American warships in the Red Sea.”
#IndianNavy swiftly responds to a Maritime Incident in #GulfofAden
— SpokespersonNavy (@indiannavy) March 5, 2024
Liberian-flagged MV #MSCSkyII transiting approximately 90 Nm South East of Aden was reported on fire due to drone/ missile attack PM 04 Mar.
#INSKolkata, mission deployed in the region for maritime security… pic.twitter.com/AG15Krocjr
Video credit: Spokesperson of Indian navy
