‘Ship on fire off Yemen after being attacked with unknown projectiles’
DubaI: A ship travelling through the Red Sea is reportedly on fire after coming under attack on Sunday by armed men firing guns and launching rocket-propelled grenades, authorities said.
One report said the unidentified vessel was later hit by what may have been bomb-carrying boats, setting it ablaze.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack, which comes as tensions remain high in the Middle East over the Israel-Hamas war and after the Iran-Israel war and airstrikes by the United States targeting Iranian nuclear sites.
However, suspicion immediately fell on Yemen’s Houthi rebels, who have launched attacks on ships in the Red Sea corridor in the past and have drone boats in their arsenal.
The British military’s United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations centre said an armed security team on the unidentified vessel had returned fire and that the “situation is ongoing”.
It described the attack as happening some 100 kilometres southwest of Hodeida, Yemen, which is held by the country’s Houthi rebels.
“Authorities are investigating,” it said.
It later said the ship was on fire after being “struck by unknown projectiles”.
Ambrey, a private maritime security firm, issued an alert saying that a merchant ship had been “attacked by eight skiffs while transiting northbound in the Red Sea.” It said it believed the attack was ongoing.
Ambrey later said the ship also had been attacked by bomb-carrying drone boats, which could mark a major escalation in the region. It said two drone boats struck the ship, while another two had been destroyed by the armed guards on board.
The US Navy’s 5th Fleet deferred to Central Command, which confirmed awareness of a Houthi attack but gave no details. The Houthis have targeted over 100 vessels since November 2023, disrupting Red Sea trade. While attacks paused briefly, missile strikes have resumed.
The wider Yemen conflict and threats from Somali pirates add to regional maritime instability.
