The Houthis on Friday claimed an attack using ships, drones and missiles, on a Greek-owned ship off Yemen’s coast.
The attack “targeted the ship Yannis, which belongs to a Greek company, Eastern Mediterranean Maritime, as it passed through the Red Sea,” the group’s military spokesman, Yahya Saree, said in a statement.
The Joint Maritime Information Centre (JMIC), which is run by a Western-led naval task force in the region, said Thursday that the Maltese-flagged bulk carrier Yannis was targeted by a missile off of Yemen’s coast.
According to the JMIC, as well as maritime security agency Ambrey and British maritime security agency UKMTO, the attack did not result in any casualties or damage.
The missile “impacted the water in close proximity” to the ship, UKMTO said.
The Houthis, who control large swathes of territory, claimed to have launched two other attacks without specifying the date, on “the Israeli ship MSC Alexandria in the Arabian Sea” as well as “the Israeli ship Essex in the Mediterranean Sea.”
“The Yemeni Armed Forces renew their warning to all companies (who) make deals with the Israeli entity that their ships, regardless of their destination, will be targeted,” Saree said in the statement.
The United States in December announced a maritime security initiative to protect Red Sea shipping from Houthi attacks, which have forced commercial vessels to divert from the route that normally carries 12 percent of global trade.
Since January, the US and Britain have launched repeated retaliatory strikes on Houthi targets in Yemen in response to the ship attacks.
The strikes have done little to deter the Houthis, who have vowed to target Israeli, American and British vessels, as well as all ships heading to Israeli ports.
With AFP
