A British ship was slightly damaged by a drone attack in the Red Sea off the coast of Yemen on the night of Monday to Tuesday, said security company Ambrey, which specializes in maritime transport.
• Also read: New US attack in Yemen against the Houthis
• Also read: New US and British attacks in Yemen
According to the same source, the “port side” of a Barbados-flagged British cargo ship was “minorly damaged” in a drone strike.
According to the British Maritime Safety Agency (UKTMO), a window of the cargo ship was “lightly” damaged by a drone strike over the ship, which was then 57 nautical miles, or about 105 kilometers, west of Hodeida, a major port on Yemen's west coast, under the control of the Houthi rebels.
During the night, the US also carried out a new attack against the Houthis in Yemen, targeting two naval drones loaded with explosives, the US Middle East Command (Centcom) said.
American forces have stepped up operations in Yemen and off the coast of that war-torn country, saying they are acting to protect shipping in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden from attacks by the Houthis, who are said to be supporting Palestinians in Gaza , where Israel is waging war against the Islamist Hamas movement that dominates this small area.
The US military carried out “a self-defense attack against two explosive-laden naval surface drones” at around 12:30 GMT, Centcom said on social network X.
U.S. forces “identified” these drones in “Houthi-controlled areas in Yemen” and considered them “an imminent threat to U.S. naval vessels and merchant vessels,” he added, repeating the words typically used after each keystroke.
Backed by Iran, America's black arm, the Houthi rebels control much of Yemen after nearly a decade of war against the Yemeni government.
While the Houthis say they are attacking ships they believe are linked to Israel, whose main military backer is the United States, other pro-Iranian armed groups have stepped up attacks against American interests in the region in recent weeks.
These tensions in the Red Sea also come as US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is in the Middle East to seek a ceasefire in the war between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip, a Palestinian territory that is also the victim of a humanitarian crisis.