Missile Attacks Damage Greek-Owned Vessel in Red Sea

Missile attacks twice struck a Marshall Islands-flagged, Greek-owned ship Tuesday in the Red Sea off the coast of Yemen. A private security firm indicated that radio traffic suggested the vessel began taking on water after being hit. Although no group has claimed responsibility, suspicion fell on Yemen’s Houthi rebels, known for targeting ships amid the Israel-Hamas conflict in Gaza.

The initial attack on the bulk carrier occurred near the port city of Hodeida in the southern Red Sea, close to the Bab el-Mandeb Strait. The British military’s United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations Center (UKMTO) confirmed the vessel “sustained damage” and later reported an “impact in the water near the vessel.” Despite the damage, the crew was reported safe and the vessel continued to its next port of call.

The private security firm Ambrey reported that the vessel communicated via radio about sustaining damage to its cargo hold and taking on water. Later that night, the UKMTO reported further damage from a second missile attack near Mokha in the Bab el-Mandeb.

The U.S. military’s Central Command identified the targeted ship and noted that it was headed to Fujairah in the United Arab Emirates. Central Command also reported destroying five Houthi drones over the Red Sea during the attacks.

While the Houthis did not immediately acknowledge the attack, they have a history of targeting shipping in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, especially amid demands for Israel to end the war in Gaza. The United States Maritime Administration noted that the rebels have conducted over 50 attacks on shipping, including seizing one vessel and sinking another since November.

The ongoing conflict in Yemen, sparked by the Houthi seizure of the capital Sanaa in 2014 and the subsequent Saudi-led coalition intervention in 2015, remains unresolved. The Yemeni prime minister of the exiled, internationally recognized government recently urged the global community to look beyond the Houthis’ claims of supporting Palestinians through these attacks.