DUBAI (AP) – A suspected attack by Yemen’s Houthi rebels damaged a ship in the Gulf of Aden on Wednesday, authorities said, the latest in a campaign of assaults by the group over Israel’s war on Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
The attack came as a United States destroyer separately shot down drones and a missile launched by the Houthis and as the Indian navy released images of it fighting a fire aboard a container ship earlier targeted by the rebels.
Meanwhile, Iran announced yesterday it would confiscate a USD50 million cargo of Kuwaiti crude oil for American energy firm Chevron Corp aboard a tanker it seized nearly a year earlier. It marks the latest twist in a yearslong shadow war playing out in the Mideast’s waterways even before the Houthi attacks began.
The attack yesterday in the Gulf of Aden targeted a Barbados-flagged bulk carrier called True Confidence, which earlier had been hailed over radio by individuals claiming to be the Yemeni military, officials said. The Houthis have been hailing ships over the radio in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden since launching their attacks, with analysts suspecting the rebels want to seize the vessels.
The British military’s United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations centre described the True Confidence as reportedly being hit in the attack and sustaining damage. The extent of the damage to the Liberian-flagged ship remained unclear.
The Houthis did not immediately claim the attack, though it typically takes several hours for them to acknowledge an assault.
Since November, the rebels have repeatedly targeted ships in the Red Sea and surrounding waters over the Israel-Hamas war.
