Yemen rebels claim fresh Red Sea ship attacks

DUBAI: Yemen’s Houthi rebels said Tuesday they struck US and British ships in two separate attacks in the Red Sea, one of which was confirmed by a security firm.

In a statement, Houthi spokesman Yahya Saree said the “the first attack targeted the American ship Star Nasia, while the other targeted the British ship Morning Tide”.

Security firm Ambrey had initially reported a drone attack on a British-owned cargo ship off rebel-held Yemen but later said a projectile targeted the Barbados-flagged vessel.

It was launched from a small boat sighted in the vicinity of the ship, Ambrey said, adding that the projectile did not impact the ship directly but exploded nearby, causing minor damage.

There were no casualties among the crew, the British firm said.

British maritime security agency UKMTO said it had received a report of an incident off the rebel-held port city of Hodeida.

“The master stated that a projectile was fired at his vessel on the port side which passed over the deck, causing slight damage to the bridge windows,” United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations said, without identifying the vessel or the flag it was flying.

“The vessel and crew are safe,” it added, saying the ship was proceeding on its voyage as planned.

Yemen’s Houthi rebels, who control much of the war-torn country, have been harassing Red Sea shipping for months in protest against the Israel-Hamas war.

Their attacks have triggered reprisals by US and British forces, including a wave of air strikes that hit dozens of targets late on Saturday.

The Houthis “will carry out more military operations against all hostile American-British targets” in self-defence, Saree said in Tuesday’s statement published on X, formerly Twitter.