The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) center announced on Friday, January 26, that it had received a report of two missile explosions in the waters near a ship close to the port of Aden, Yemen.
The center issued an alert stating that the ship and its crew are safe, and no damage has been reported.
According to the alert, the ship is currently moving to the next port, and coalition forces are responding to the incident.
The UKMTO also stated that on Friday, it received a separate report of an incident related to a ship located approximately 60 nautical miles (111 kilometers) from the port of Hodeidah in the Red Sea.
This is an area where Houthi militants have carried out attacks on merchant ships.
The United States Central Command (CENTCOM) also reported on Friday that Houthi militants, with the support of the Iranian regime, launched a missile attack on the destroyer USS Carney.
CENTCOM announced that the American warship successfully intercepted the Houthi missile, and there were no casualties or material damage.
According to CENTCOM, the Houthis fired an anti-ship ballistic missile towards the USS Carney in the Gulf of Aden at around 1:30 PM local time.
The Houthi rebels, affiliated with the Iranian regime, control approximately one-third of the most populous areas in Yemen.
Since mid-November, they have repeatedly targeted commercial ships with unmanned aerial vehicles and missiles.
Many Western experts believe that the Houthi attacks on ships are carried out at the behest of the Iranian regime and with Tehran’s military and intelligence support. The Houthis claim that these attacks are a response to Israeli military actions in Gaza.
Their attacks have disrupted the global shipping industry and led several major companies to suspend their voyages in the Red Sea, opting for longer and more expensive routes around Africa.
Despite repeated warnings from the United States and multiple airstrikes on their positions by the U.S. and the UK in the past two weeks, the Houthis have not ceased their attacks on commercial ships.
On January 25th, the Office of Foreign Assets Control of the U.S. Department of the Treasury sanctioned four senior officials of the Houthi militia group (officially known as Ansar Allah) for supporting terrorist activities and targeting commercial vessels. Additionally, the UK imposed sanctions on these senior Houthi officials.
On January 17th, Antony Blinken, the U.S. Secretary of State, announced in a statement that the Houthis (officially known as Ansar Allah) would be designated as an international terrorist group on the U.S. list of terrorist organizations within 30 days.
