A missile attack damages a ship in the Red Sea off Yemen's coast near previous Houthi rebel assaults
A missile attack has damaged a ship in the Red Sea off the coast of Yemen
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — A missile attack damaged a ship Tuesday in the Red Sea off the coast of Yemen, with a private security firm saying radio traffic suggested the vessel took on water after being struck.
No group immediately claimed responsibility, but suspicion immediately fell on Yemen's Houthi rebels, who have launched a number of attacks targeting ships over Israel's war on Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
The attack happened off the port city of Hodeida in the southern Red Sea, near the Bab el-Mandeb Strait that links it to the Gulf of Aden, according to the British military’s United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations center. The vessel “sustained damage” in the assault and later reported an “impact in the water in close proximity to the vessel,” the UKMTO said.
“The crew are reported safe and the vessel is proceeding to its next port of call,” the center said.
The private security firm Ambrey said the vessel reported by radio of having “sustained damage to the cargo hold and was taking on water.”
The location of the attack corresponded to the Marshall Islands-flagged bulk carrier Laax. The vessel reported being heading to Fujairah in the United Arab Emirates.
Grehel Ship Management of Piraeus, Greece, manages the Laax. A man who answered the phone at Grehel declined to answer questions about the attack and an emailed request for comment was not returned.
The Houthis did not immediately acknowledge the attack, though it can take the rebels hours or even days to claim their assaults.
The Houthis have launched attacks on shipping in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden in recent months, demanding that Israel ends the war in Gaza, which has
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