A US commercial ship was hit by a missile off the coast of Yemen on Monday, the British military has confirmed.
The UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) reported there had been an ‘incident’ 95 nautical miles south east of Aden, though details of the incident remain scarce.
The report only said the ship’s captain reported that the ‘port side of vessel hit from above by a missile,’ but did not identify the ship or elaborate. It is currently not known who was behind the attack and an investigation has been launched.
Private intelligence firm Ambrey said a US-owned bulk carrier carrying a Marshall Islands flag had been hit by the missile. The firm claimed the vessel remained seaworthy and there were no injuries.
It comes less than a day after Yemen’s Houthi rebels launched an attack against an American destroyer in the Red Sea.
On Sunday Yemen’s Houthi rebels launched an attack against an American destroyer in the Red Sea
A US fighter jet shot down anti-ship cruise missile fired toward the American destroyer USS Laboon (pictured) by Houthi rebels in the Red Sea Sunday, their first response to a series of drone strikes fired by the Americans in recent days
The Shiite rebel group has declared war against the West over its support for Israel
Sunday’s attack toward the American warship marked the first U.S.-acknowledged fire by the Houthis since America and allied nations began strikes Friday on the rebels following weeks of assaults on shipping in the Red Sea.
The Houthis — a Shiite rebel group allied with Iran that seized Yemen’s capital in 2014 — have targeted that crucial corridor linking Asian and Mideast energy and cargo shipments to the Suez Canal onward to Europe over the Israel-Hamas war, attacks that threaten to widen that conflict into a regional conflagration.
They did not immediately acknowledge the attack.
It wasn’t presently clear whether the U.S. would retaliate for the latest attacks, though President Joe Biden has said he ‘will not hesitate to direct further measures to protect our people and the free flow of international commerce as necessary.’
The UKMTO warned ships to ‘transit with caution and report and suspicious activity’.
The U.S. Navy’s Mideast-based 5th Fleet did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Yemen’s Houthi rebels did not acknowledge any attack, though they have fired missiles previously in that area.
The Houthi fire on Sunday went in the direction of the USS Laboon, an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer operating in the southern reaches of the Red Sea, the U.S. military’s Central Command said in a statement.
The missile came from near Hodeida, a Red Sea port city long held by the Houthis, the U.S. said.
More to follow.