Missile attacks by Yemen’s Houthi militias twice damaged a Marshall Islands-flagged, Greek-owned ship Tuesday in the Red Sea off the coast of Yemen.
The Houthis have launched a number of attacks targeting ships over Israel's war on Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
The first attack on the bulk carrier Laax happened off the port city of Hodeidah in the southern Red Sea, near the Bab el-Mandeb Strait that links it to the Gulf of Aden, according to the British military’s United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations center. The vessel “sustained damage” in the assault and later reported an “impact in the water in close proximity to the vessel,” the UKMTO said.
“The crew are reported safe and the vessel is proceeding to its next port of call,” the center said.
The private security firm Ambrey said the vessel reported by radio of having “sustained damage to the cargo hold and was taking on water.”
Late Tuesday night, the UKMTO reported the Laax “sustained further damage” in a second missile attack near Mokha in the Bab el-Mandeb.
The US military’s Central Command also identified the targeted ship as the Laax.
“Iranian-backed Houthis launched five anti-ship ballistic missiles (ASBM) from Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen into the Red Sea,” it said.
The ship “reported being struck by three of the missiles, but continued its voyage,” USCENTCOM added.
Central Command separately said it destroyed five Houthi drones over the Red Sea amid the attacks.
“It was determined the systems presented an imminent threat to merchant vessels in the region,” it added.
