Houthis fire missiles at two ships in the Red Sea, causing minor damage to one
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Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi group has been targeting commercial vessels with drones and missiles in the Red Sea since mid-November.
PHOTO ILLUSTRATION: REUTERS
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CAIRO - Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis fired missiles at two vessels in the Red Sea, the group said on Feb 6, causing minor damage to a cargo ship that was sailing off the coast of Yemen’s Hodeidah.
The Houthis have been targeting commercial vessels
The group’s military spokesman said it fired naval missiles at the Morning Tide and Star Nasia, identifying the Barbados- and Marshall Islands-flagged ships respectively as British and American.
British maritime security firm Ambrey confirmed that a Barbados-flagged general cargo ship owned by a British company suffered damage from an unmanned aerial vehicle while sailing south-east through the Red Sea.
No injuries were reported, the ship performed evasive manoeuvres and continued its journey, Ambrey added.
The owner of the Morning Tide, British company Furadino Shipping, told Reuters the ship was currently sailing without problems but gave no further information.
The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) agency said just after midnight GMT on Feb 6 that it had received a report of a projectile fired at the port side of a ship located 57 nautical miles west of Hodeidah and that a small craft was seen nearby.
The projectile passed over the deck and caused slight damage to the bridge windows, but the vessel and crew were safe and proceeded on the planned passage, UKMTO added.
LSEG ship-tracking data showed the Morning Tide was sailing down through the Red Sea having come through the Suez Canal on Feb 2. Its most recent signal shows it sailing out of the Red Sea through the Bab al-Mandab Strait.
The Red Sea attacks have disrupted global shipping and forced companies to re-route to longer and more expensive journeys around southern Africa and stoked fears that the Israel-Hamas war could spread to destabilise the wider Middle East.
The United States and Britain in January began striking Houthi targets
The US military said its forces conducted a strike in self-defence on Feb 5 afternoon Yemen time against two Houthi explosive uncrewed surface vehicles, which it said presented an imminent threat to US Navy ships and merchant vessels in the region. REUTERS
