According to British authorities, three small Houthi vessels, two manned and one unmanned, attacked the MT Bently I near Hodeidah, Yemen. The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations center reported, "The reported unmanned small craft collided with the vessel twice, and the 2 manned small craft fired at the vessel."
"The vessel took self-protection measures, and after 15 minutes, the small craft aborted the attack."
The captain later reported three waves of missile attacks that exploded near the vessel.
In a separate incident later that day off the same coast, the MT Chios Lion, an oil tanker, was attacked by an unmanned Houthi aerial vehicle which "impacted on the port side causing some damage and light smoke," according to UKMTO.
Both ships and all crew were reported safe, UKMTO said in a warning to mariners.
Late Monday, the Houthis claimed responsibility for the attacks on Bently I and Chios Lion.
Early Tuesday, US Central Command confirmed the attacks and identified the names and flags of the ships.
Also on Monday, Central Command stated that CENTCOM forces successfully destroyed five Iranian-backed Houthi unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), three over the Red Sea and two over Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen.
The militias claimed to have targeted more than 166 vessels since November.
The Houthis maintain that their attacks target ships linked to Israel, the United States, or Britain, as part of their support for Hamas in its conflict with Israel. However, many of the ships attacked have little or no connection to the conflict.
