By Saeed Al-Batati
Yemen’s Houthi militia attacked a ship in the Red Sea on Wednesday, less than a day after claiming to have hit three ships in the Arabian Sea and Gulf of Aden.
The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations, a body that records ship attacks, said that a ship master on Wednesday reported an explosion near his vessel 40 nautical miles south of Yemen’s Red Sea port city of Mocha and that the ship and its crew were unhurt.
“The vessel is proceeding to its next port of call. Authorities continue to monitor the situation. Vessels are advised to transit with caution and report any suspicious activity to UKMTO,” the UK agency said in a statement.
The attack came a day after the Houthis targeted a commercial ship destined for Oman in the Indian Ocean, breaking a more than week-long pause in ship attacks by the militia.
In a televised statement, Houthi military spokesman Yahya Sarea said on Tuesday evening that the militia targeted the US-flagged Maersk Sentosa in the Arabian Sea with ballistic and cruise missiles in revenge for US military strikes on Yemeni regions under Houthi control.
Sarea also claimed the Houthis shot explosive-laden drones at the Marthopolis ship in the Arabian Sea, blaming the assault on the ship’s parent company violating the militia’s prohibition on traveling to Israel. Another ship, MSC Patnaree, identified as Israeli by Sarea, was targeted with drones in the Gulf of Aden.
According to marinetraffic.com, the Maersk Sentosa is a container ship flying the US flag that docked at the Omani Salalah port on Tuesday, the Marthopolis is a Malta-flagged container ship sailing from Oman’s Salalah to India, and the MSC Patnaree is a Liberian-flagged container ship sailing from Somalia to Sri Lanka.
The Houthis claim that their anti-ship campaign is aimed at Israel-linked ships and those sailing to Israel in order to pressure Tel Aviv into ending its war in Gaza.
The militia has also targeted US and UK ships after the two countries conducted strikes on Yemeni territory under Houthi control.
At the same time, US Central Command said on Wednesday that its troops had destroyed a drone in Houthi-controlled Yemeni territory, marking the latest in a succession of US military attacks on Houthi targets in Yemen.
Since November, the Houthis have seized a commercial ship, sunk two others, and launched hundreds of ballistic missiles, drones and drone boats against vessels in the Red Sea, Bab Al-Mandab Strait, Gulf of Aden and Indian Ocean.
Houthi strikes have increased shipping and insurance expenses, and forced major shipping companies to reroute their ships to longer and more expensive routes across Africa.
