The crew of a ship burned down on an attack on the Red Sea on Sunday (6) abandoned the vessel while it was water, a British maritime agency and a security company said.
The attack on the southwest coast of Yemen, according to the British agency, featured the brands of the Houthi militant group. It was the first incident of the type reported in the important sea corridor since mid -April.
Maritime safety sources said the ship, which identified as the Liberal and Greek -owned bandage Magic Seas, made water after being hit by drones.
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The ship was first targeted by self -propelled gunfire and grenades launched from eight small boats, with the ship’s armed safety returning the fire, the UK maritime trade operations (UKMTO) and the British security company Ambrey in notices were said.
Ambrey said in a separate statement that the ship was later attacked by four unmanned surface vehicles.
“Two of the USVs impacted the ship’s pushing, damaging the ship’s load,” added Ambrey. Ukmto said the attack resulted in a fire on board and that the incident was underway.
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Voltage
There were no reports of injuries between the crew, a source of the Maritime Security company said. The vessel operator was not immediately available to comment.
No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, but Ambrey said the vessel “serves the target profile established by the Houthi.”
Tensions in the Middle East remain high because of the war in Gaza and after the 12 -day war between Israel and Iran, and US air attacks on Iranian nuclear facilities in June.
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Sunday’s attack took place at 51 nautical miles southwest of the Hodeidah port city in Yemen, Ukmto and Ambrey reported.
The Houthis of Yemen, aligned with Iran, launched more than 100 attacks against ships from November 2023, saying they were acting in solidarity with the Palestinians because of the Israeli war with Hamas.
During this period, the group sank two ships, seized another and killed at least four sailors in an offensive that interrupted global maritime transport, forcing companies to change route, leading the US to intensify attacks against the group this year.
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In May, President Donald Trump announced that the US would stop bombarding the hethis in Yemen, saying that the group had agreed to stop interrupting important navigation routes in the Middle East.
According to the agreement, neither the Hethis would target each other, including American ships in the Red Sea and Bab Al-Mandab’s narrow, Oman said in a statement at the time.
Later, in June, the Yemen Houthis threatened to attack US Red Ships in the Red Sea if Washington got involved in Israeli attacks against Iran. They did not specify if they will fulfill the threat after the US attacked Iranian nuclear facilities last month.
