WASHINGTON – The US Navy has destroyed Houthi “small boats” whose crew attempted to board a container ship in the Red Sea.
Four vessels from Houthi-controlled areas in Yemen fired upon the Maersk Hangzhou and got within meters of the ship, the US military said.
Helicopters from nearby US warships responded to a distress call – and, after being fired upon, sunk three boats “in self-defense”.
The crews were killed and the fourth boat fled the area.
Houthi forces have been attacking ships in the Red Sea since November, launching more than 100 drone and missile attacks on vessels passing through the vital shipping lane.
The Iranian-backed Yemeni rebel group has previously claimed its attacks are directed at vessels linked to Israel, in response to the war in Gaza.
The commercial ship attacked, the Maersk Hangzhou, is registered to Singapore and operated and owned by a Danish firm, US Central Command (Centcom) said.
Maersk, one of the largest shipping companies in the world, says it has paused sailings through the Red Sea for 48 hours.
The firm had only resumed using the route a few days ago, after the US and its allies launched a mission to protect ships in the area.
Previously, its ships had diverted on a much longer route around the Cape of Good Hope because of the recent attacks on shipping.
The four Houthi boats attacked at around 6:30 a.m. Yemeni time with mounted weapons and small arms, getting to within 20 meters of the container ship, which the crew “attempted to board”. The ships crew issued a distress call and a security team returned fire, Centcom said.
Helicopters from the nearby USS Eisenhower aircraft carrier and USS Gravely destroyer responded to the call for help and were shot at while “in the process of issuing verbal calls to the small boats”.
The helicopters “returned fire in self-defense, sinking three of the four small boats, and killing the crews”, Centcom said. It added that the fourth boat “fled the area” and no damage had been recorded to US personnel or equipment.
It was the second attack on the Maersk Hangzhou in 24 hours, after it was targeted with missiles on Saturday.
The anti-ship missiles were fired from Houthi-controlled areas and the destroyers Gravely and Laboon responded on Saturday, according to a previous Centcom statement.
A US Navy admiral told the AP news agency the missile attack was the first successful strike since a global patrol was launched on 18 December.
Centcom said while the ships were responding to the distress call, two anti-ship missiles were fired from Houthi-controlled areas at the pair of US navy vessels.
The USS Gravely destroyed the inbound ballistic missiles, Centcom said, adding it was the twenty-third “illegal attack by the Houthis on international shipping” since Nov. 19.
Centcom added the Maersk Hangzhou was “reportedly seaworthy and there are no reported injuries” on board.
Separately, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) organization reported an incident in the Red Sea about 101 km to the south-west of the Yemeni port of Hodeidah.
The organization said an unidentified ship had reported “a loud bang accompanied by a flash on the port bow of the vessel”, and several explosions.
No damage was recorded and all members of the crew were reported unhurt, with the vessel escaping the area to a nearby port, the statement said.
The rise in Houthi attacks over several weeks has led many shipping firms, including Maersk, to divert their vessels away from the Red Sea – instead travelling around the Horn of Africa.
To reach the Suez Canal in Egypt – which connects to the Mediterranean Sea – ships must pass through the tiny Bab al-Mandab Strait, just off the coast of Houthi-controlled areas in Yemen.
The Iranian-sponsored rebels have previously claimed to only target “Israel-linked” commercial ships in response to the war in Gaza, saying the attacks are an attempt to stop Israeli attacks on Palestinians.
In a statement on Sunday, UK Foreign Secretary David Cameron said he told Iran’s foreign minister that Tehran “shares responsibility for preventing these attacks given their long-standing support to the Houthis”. (BBC)
