Dubai, United Arab Emirates – A ship was damaged when it was attacked twice by at least two missiles while travelling off Yemen’s coast on Friday, British maritime security agency UKMTO reported.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attacks, which the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations said took place southwest of the Yemeni port of Mokha.
In the first attack “the vessel experienced an explosion in close proximity to the vessel which was felt by the crew on board”, UKMTO said on X, formerly Twitter.
“The second attack on the vessel consisted of what is believed to be two missiles, which resulted in damage,” it added.
Hours earlier, the British maritime security firm Ambrey had also reported an attack off the port of Mokha.
“Three missiles were sighted,” in that incident, Ambrey said.
“A Panama-flagged tanker was the closest vessel to these. The tanker was formerly UK-owned (but)… the ownership changed in November 2023,” according to Ambrey.
Currently, it said, the vessel is registered in the Seychelles and “engaged in Russia-linked trade”.
“The tanker was en route from Primorsk, Russia, to Vadinar, India,” it added.
The latest incidents follow a lull in attacks by Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels, who have launched dozens of missile and drone strikes targeting shipping since November.
The Houthis say they were acting in solidarity with Palestinians during the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip.
Despite the drop in attacks in recent weeks, late on Wednesday the Houthis said they “are continuing to take further military actions against all hostile targets in the Red Sea, the Arabian Sea, and the Indian Ocean”.
Earlier Friday the US Central Command said that coalition forces destroyed two drones in Houthi-controlled parts of Yemen after rebels launched a ballistic missile into the Gulf of Aden.
The missile attack launched on Thursday targeted but did not hit the Liberia-flagged cargo ship MSC DARWIN VI, according to the Joint Maritime Information Center.
The Houthis claimed the strike, alleging that the ship was Israeli-owned.
The Houthis, who control much of Yemen’s Red Sea coast, are part of an “axis of resistance” of Iran allies and proxies targeting Israel in protest at its war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
The Houthi attacks have drawn reprisal strikes from the United States and Britain since January as well as the deployment of Western naval forces to counter strikes on ships plying the busy commercial routes.