Yemen’s Houthi rebels said on Monday they targeted two tankers in the Red Sea with missiles and drones, coming after a British security agency reported a number of attacks in the volatile waterway.
In a statement on social media platform X, Houthi military spokesman Yahya Sari identified the two vessels as the Panama-flagged oil tanker Bentley I and the Liberian-flagged crude oil tanker Chios Lion.
Sari said the Bentley-1 was attacked by “drone boats, unmanned aerial vehicles and ballistic missiles,” while the Chios Lion was targeted by unmanned surface vessels.
According to a rebel spokesman, they were targeted because their owners used Israeli ports.
Earlier on Monday, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations reported two separate incidents in the Red Sea.
The UKMTO said the ship sailing south-west of the port city of Hodeidah was attacked by three smaller vessels, two of which were carrying three people each.
According to the agency, the third boat was unmanned and operated by Britain’s Royal Navy.
“The unmanned small boat hit the ship twice and two manned small boats opened fire on the ship,” the UKMTO said.
“After 15 minutes, the smaller craft ceased the attack. The ship and crew are reported safe and the ship is departing for its next port of call.”
The UKMTO said the same ship later reported four missiles exploding at “close range”, adding that the attacks caused no injuries or damage.
British maritime security firm Embray also reported the attack and said a private armed security team was present on board the merchant ship.
In a separate incident on Monday, an unmanned surface vessel collided with a merchant vessel 97 nautical miles northwest of Hodeidah, the UKMTO said.
It said the attack caused “some damage and light smoke”, adding that “the ship and crew are safe and are proceeding to the next port”.
The Red Sea, a vital waterway for global trade, has seen Houthi drone and missile attacks despite the deployment of Western naval forces to protect ships.
Since January, the United States and Britain have repeatedly launched retaliatory strikes on Houthi targets in Yemen.
On Sunday, the US military’s Central Command (CENTCOM) said its forces destroyed several Houthi drones.
“These actions were taken to safeguard freedom of navigation and make international waters safer,” a post on social media platform X said.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
