A Greek-owned merchant ship flying the flag of Malta was reportedly hit while sailing north through the Red Sea, security firm Ambrey said on Tuesday. After the incident, the ship coming from Israel changed course and headed for a port, it said. The British Maritime Security Agency (UKMTO) also reported an “incident” in an area northwest of the Yemeni town of Salif, but gave no further details.
The Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen have been attacking merchant ships in the Red Sea for over three months. As a result, shipping there has partially come to a standstill and many shipping companies are diverting their ships. In response, the USA and Great Britain bombed Houthi militia positions in Yemen from the air for the first time last Friday.
On Sunday, US forces shot down a Houthi cruise missile that targeted an American destroyer – on Monday, a US cargo ship was hit by another missile in the Gulf of Oman.
“Axis of Resistance”
Meanwhile, the US military announced that it had seized Iranian-made missile parts on a boat in the Arabian Sea, which were believed to be on their way to the Houthi rebels in Yemen. It was the Houthi’s first seizure of “lethal, Iranian-supplied advanced conventional weapons” since they began attacks on commercial vessels last November, it said. Accordingly, weapons containing “ballistic missiles and cruise missiles” were also seized during the operation on January 11th.
The Houthis launched their series of rocket and drone attacks in the Red Sea following the war between Israel and the radical Islamic group Hamas began on October 7th. The Shiite rebels see themselves as part of the self-proclaimed “Axis of Resistance” directed once morest Israel, which includes the Islamist Hamas and the pro-Iranian Hezbollah in Lebanon. According to their own statements, the Houthis are targeting ships with connections to Israel.
