(Reuters) – Yemen’s Houthis targeted three vessels, including an oil tanker, in the Red and Mediterranean seas with ballistic missiles, drones and booby-trapped boats, they said yesterday.
Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree said the latest Houthi military operations were a response to the Israeli airstrike on the southern Gaza Strip city of Khan Younis on Saturday, an attack that killed at least 90 Palestinians and wounded 300 others, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.
In dozens of attacks since November, the Houthis have sunk two vessels and seized another, killed at least three sailors and upended global trade by forcing ship owners to avoid the popular Suez Canal trade shortcut.
It recently has become more effective at damaging ships – largely through using unmanned, armed watercraft that damage a vessel’s vulnerable waterline.
In a televised speech, Saree said the Houthis have targeted the Bentley I refined products carrier and the Chios Lion oil tanker in the Red Sea. U.S. Central Command late on Monday confirmed those attacks and said no damage or injuries had been reported.
The Houthis said it also joined the Iraqi Islamic Resistance in targeting the Olvia in the Mediterranean Sea. Reuters could not independently verify that attack.
Managers of the Panama-flagged Bentley I, Liberia-flagged Chios Lion and Cyprus-flagged Olvia could not be immediately reached for comment.
Earlier on Monday, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said that two vessels came under attack in the Red Sea off Yemen’s port city of Hodeidah, with one ship reporting it had sustained some damage.
A vessel 97 nautical miles northwest of Hodeidah was attacked by an uncrewed drone boat that hit its port side, causing some damage and light smoke.
Another merchant vessel, 70 nautical miles southwest of Hodeidah, came under attack by three small watercraft, UKMTO and security firm Ambrey said separately.
The Master of that ship reported being attacked by three small craft. One of those watercraft was unmanned and twice collided with the ship as passengers on the other two boats fired on the ship. The vessel conducted “self-protection measures” and after 15 minutes the small craft aborted the attack, UKMTO said.
Later in what appeared to be two separate attacks, the Master reported four projectiles exploding near the vessel.
Both the vessel and crew were reported as safe and proceeding to the next port of call, Ambrey said.
Since November, Houthi militants in Yemen have launched drone and missile strikes in shipping lanes in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden. The group says these actions are in solidarity with Palestinians affected by Israel’s war in Gaza.
U.S. and British have conducted retaliatory strikes since February – shooting down drones and bombing attack sites in Yemen.
At least 65 countries and major energy and shipping companies have been affected by Houthi attacks, according to a report by the U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency.
