Yemen’s Houthis claimed an attack on a merchant ship in the Red Sea off the coast of Yemen.
A Houthi spokesman said the group targeted a Liberian-flagged ship called the Tutor using a maritime drone.
The Royal Navy’s Maritime Trade Operations office (UKMTO) said it had received reports of a ship being hit in the stern, about 66 nautical miles southwest of the rebel-held port of Hodeida in Yemen on Wednesday.
The vessel was taking on water and was not under the control of the crew, the UKMTO said. No casualties were reported.
He added that the ship was hit for the second time “by an unknown aerial projectile” and that military authorities were helping.
In a statement, a Houthi military spokesman said the ship was attacked “using an unmanned surface boat, several drones and ballistic missiles,” adding that the ship was “seriously damaged, vulnerable to sinking.”
The ship was targeted “because the company that owns the ship violated the decision to prohibit entry into ports in occupied Palestine,” the statement said.
Reuters news agency reports that the ship was a Greek-owned cargo ship.
Maritime security company Ambrey “assessed the ship in line with the [Houthi] profile of the target at the time of the incident”, according to a statement cited by the AFP news agency.
The Houthi armed group sees itself as part of an “axis of resistance” led by Iran against Israel, the US and the West in general, and has declared its support for the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.
Since November, the rebel group has carried out attacks on ships it says are linked to Israel in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, saying its actions support Palestinians.
In response, the US and UK have carried out a series of attacks on Houthi targets inside Yemen, prompting the Houthis to retaliate against ships they believe are linked to those countries.
Rebel attacks on merchant ships in the Red Sea have led many shipping companies to stop using the waterway, through which around 12% of global maritime trade passes.
Separately, the UN said Houthis in Yemen detained two more of its officialsbringing to 13 the total number of employees seized by the group last week.
The World Health Organization (WHO) said one of its employees was among those detained. WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on X that he was “deeply concerned” about the situation.
