British maritime security company Ambrey said on Friday that a container ship flying a Liberian flag was damaged by an “air attack” as it sailed through the Bab al-Mandeb Strait, with the attack resulting in a fire on the ship’s deck and a container falling off it.
It reported Embry said the ship was owned by Hapag-Lloyd and was sailing south through the Bab al-Mandab Strait in the southern Red Sea when it was attacked by a projectile 50 nautical miles north of the Yemeni port of Mokha.
No party has yet claimed responsibility for the attack.
And it attacked The Yemeni Houthi movement, allied with Iran, has attacked ships in Red Sea shipping lanes and launched drones and missiles towards Israel since the war in the Gaza Strip began more than two months ago, highlighting fears of a widening conflict in the Middle East.
It says The Houthi movement, which controls most of Yemen, said that the attacks are a show of support for the Palestinians and pledged to continue them until Israel stops its military campaign.
In a separate report on Friday, the British Maritime Trade Operations Authority said that it had received a report about a small boat with ten individuals on board who said they were from the authorities. They ordered a ship to change its course towards Yemen in the vicinity of Bab al-Mandab, 50 nautical miles north of Mokha.
In another report, the authority also said that it had received a report that a ship had been hit by an unknown projectile west of the Yemeni port of Hodeidah, resulting in a fire breaking out on board. The ship was not injured.
It is not yet clear whether the two reports refer to the same incident.
Late on Thursday evening, the Houthis claimed responsibility for carrying out a military operation against a Maersk container ship and directly hitting it with a drone. The Danish shipping company denied the matter and said that the ship was not hit.