Houthis attack ship in the Red Sea with drones and launch further explosive boat attacks

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A commercial vessel was hit by a Houthi drone on Sunday, two maritime security observers said, the latest of about 30 civilian vessels damaged and two others sunk by the group as part of its blockade of the Red Sea.

The Houthis claim to support Hamas in the Gaza Strip and have been blocking the waterway through which around 12 percent of global maritime trade is carried out since mid-November.

They say the action will continue until Israel ends its war against Gaza.

The private security company Ambrey identified the affected ship as a Liberian-flagged container ship bound for Qingdao (China), while the British Maritime Trade Organisation confirmed the attack.

So far, the Houthis have sunk two ships: the fertilizer carrier MV Rubymar, which was en route to Morocco, and the coal carrier MV Tutor, which was sunk with a cargo of coal from Russia. Four sailors were killed in the operation.

The latest attack comes as the US is sending another aircraft carrier to the Red Sea to join Britain in air operations targeting Houthi missile and drone launch sites.

Numerous allied countries, including Australia and Bahrain, are providing non-lethal support to the mission known as Operation Prosperity Guardian.

A separate EU mission, Operation Aspides, focused on launching missiles and drones to protect civilian vessels.

On Sunday, the aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower completed its mission in the Red Sea and reached the Mediterranean, where it was relieved by the USS Theodore Roosevelt.

The aircraft carrier coming from the Pacific can transport 90 aircraft and helicopters.

The announcement by US Central Command (Centcom), the US military headquarters in the Middle East, came after a wave of missile and explosive attacks by Houthi forces on drone boats.

“Over the past 24 hours, U.S. Central Command forces have successfully destroyed three Iran-backed Houthis’ unmanned surface vessels (USVs) in the Red Sea,” the organization said on X.

Centcom also said the Houthis had fired anti-ship ballistic missiles, which can have far more destructive power than drones, but no damage or casualties were reported.

Updated: June 23, 2024, 09:27