A suspected attack by Yemen’s Houthi rebels yesterday targeted a ship in the narrow Bab el-Mandeb Strait as authorities said that the rebels launched their longest-range attack yet on a US-flagged vessel near the Arabian Sea.
The sudden burst of attacks by the Houthis comes after an unexplained pause of a week and a half by the rebels.
The rebels might be regrouping ahead of the arrival of a new US aircraft carrier to the region after the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower began heading home.
The attack yesterday targeted a ship south of Mocha, the British military’s UK Maritime Trade Operations center said.
The captain reported explosions off the ship’s side.
The “vessel and all crew are safe,” the center said. “The vessel is proceeding to its next port of call.”
The Houthis have been attacking ships in the Red Sea corridor since November last year.
The group did not immediately claim yesterday’s attack, although they often do not do so for hours or even days.
On Tuesday, Houthi leaders said the group launched missiles at a US-flagged container ship in the Gulf of Aden.
The Joint Maritime Information Center, which is overseen by the US Navy, identified the ship as the Maersk Sentosa and warned that it was the longest-distance attack seen from Yemen by the Houthis since November last year.
Later on Tuesday, the Houthis issued a broad claim of responsibility for three attacks, which included the Maersk Sentosa.
Maersk, a Danish firm that is the world’s biggest shipping company, told reporters that its vessel had been targeted.
“No injuries to the crew or damage to the ship or cargo were reported,” the company said in a statement. “The vessel is currently continuing her voyage towards her next port of call.”
The rebels have targeted more than 70 vessels by firing missiles and drones in their campaign that has killed four sailors.
They have seized one vessel and sank two since November last year.
Last month, the number of Houthi attacks on merchant vessels increased to levels not seen since December last year, the Joint Maritime Information Center said.
US-led airstrikes have targeted the Houthis since January, with a series of strikes on May 30 killing at least 16 people.
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