An attack by Yemen’s Houthis on Monday targeted a ship further away from almost all previous attacks in the Gulf of Aden, part of a widening escalation by the group, AP News reports. (Updated at 11:50 a.m)
The attack came as the US sent the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower back home after an eight-month deployment at sea during which it led the American response to massive Houthi attacks. The attacks have drastically reduced shipping traffic on a route critical to markets in Asia, the Middle East and Europe. The Houthis say the campaign will continue as long as Israel continues its bloody war in the Gaza Strip.
The attack took place Monday morning in the Gulf of Aden about 450 kilometres (280 miles) southeast of Nishtun, a town in the far reaches of Yemen near the border with Oman, according to the British military’s United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations center. The region has long been held by forces allied to Yemen’s government-in-exile, which has been fighting the Houthis since rebels seized the capital Sanaa in 2014. The UKMTO said:
“The master of a merchant vessel reports an explosion in close proximity to the vessel. The crew are reported safe and the vessel is proceeding to its next port of call.”
The Joint Maritime Information Centre, under the control of the US Navy, identified the vessel attacked as the Liberian-flagged, Greek-operated container ship MSC Sarah V, bound for Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. It said:
“The vessel was not hit and all crew on board are safe. JMIC assesses that the vessel was likely attacked due to perceived Israeli association.”
Another MSC vessel, the MSC Orion, was attacked in May in a deep-sea attack for which Houthis claimed responsibility.
The Houthis are using new missiles
Late Tuesday, Houthi military spokesman Brigadier General Yahya Sarea said in a pre-recorded message, without providing further details, that a new ballistic missile was used in the attack. Sarea said on Al Masirah TV:
“The Yemeni Navy carried out a qualitative operation in the Arabian Sea against the Israeli ship MSC Sarah V….. The operation was carried out with the help of a new ballistic missile that entered service after successfully completing pilot tests.”
He said the new missile is capable of “hitting targets accurately and at long distances.” Saria emphasised that the Yemeni armed forces “continue to develop military capabilities to enhance their jihadist role in supporting the Palestinian resistance.”
Since the escalation of the conflict in the Gaza Strip, the Houthis have repeatedly threatened to attack Israel and ships linked to the country. They have attacked dozens of civilian vessels in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden since November last year.
Earlier it was reported that the UK Navy’s Maritime Trade Coordination Centre (United UKMTO) reported a new attack on a vessel off the coast of Yemen. UKMTO became aware of the incident 65 nautical miles west of the Yemeni city of Hodeidah, authorities are investigating the circumstances of the incident.
