Early Friday, a vessel was struck by unknown projectiles 83 nautical miles southeast of Yemen's Aden, according to reports from the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) and British security firm Ambrey. The UKMTO confirmed that all crew members are safe.
Ambrey identified the vessel as a Singapore-flagged container ship. The incident occurred while the ship was transiting northeast along the Gulf of Aden. A nearby merchant vessel reported seeing a "light and blast" in the vicinity of the ship. Following the attack, the vessel appeared to take evasive maneuvers and turned off its automatic identification system about an hour later.
Ambrey noted that the vessel's profile matched typical targets of the Houthi militias in Yemen. Since November, Houthi militias have been launching drone and missile strikes in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, claiming these actions are in solidarity with Palestinians affected by Israel's conflict in Gaza.
In response to Houthi attacks, Britain and the US have conducted retaliatory strikes since February, targeting drones and attack sites in Yemen. The US Central Command (USCENTCOM) announced on Thursday that it had successfully destroyed two surface-to-air missiles (SAM) and four uncrewed aerial vehicles (UAV) in Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen. These weapons were deemed to pose an imminent threat to US, coalition forces, and merchant vessels in the region.
“These actions were taken to protect freedom of navigation and make international waters safer and more secure,” USCENTCOM stated.