Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis announced on Saturday that they had attacked a merchant ship in the Gulf of Aden. This comes as a multinational naval force confirmed that two missiles exploded near a Liberia-flagged vessel.
Houthi spokesman Yahya Saree stated in a televised announcement that the Yemeni Armed Forces carried out a military operation targeting the ship GROTON in the Gulf of Aden. He claimed the ship was hit and noted this was the second attack on the vessel, following a similar incident on August 3.
The Houthis have been targeting international shipping in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden as part of what they describe as a campaign in solidarity with Palestinians amid the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict in Gaza.
Earlier on Saturday, the Joint Maritime Information Centre (JMIC), part of a Western naval coalition, reported that the GROTON had been targeted by two ballistic missiles while 130 nautical miles east of Aden. The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) agency, run by Britain’s Royal Navy, confirmed that the ship’s captain reported all crew members were safe, and the GROTON was proceeding to its next port of call.
These Houthi attacks, aimed at ships they claim are linked to Israel, have disrupted traffic in a critical maritime zone essential to global trade.
