Greek-operated vessel hit by missiles off Yemen’s coast, say shipping sources
A Greek-operated but Marshall Islands-flagged bulk carrier off the Yemeni coast took on water after being targeted with three missiles, maritime security and shipping sources have said.
The ship issued a distress call, saying it had sustained damage to the cargo hold and was taking on water about 54 nautical miles southwest of Yemen’s port city of Hodeidah, British security firm Ambrey said.
Greek shipping sources said the vessel, which bears the name Laax, was sailing to a port nearby to assess the extent of the damage. It was headed to Fujairah in the United Arab Emirates.
Grehel Ship Management of Piraeus, Greece, manages the Laax. A man who answered the phone at Grehel declined to answer questions about the attack and an emailed request for comment was not returned.
None of the crew were Greek, the semi-official Athens-Macedonian News Agency reported, citing sources in the Greek coast guard.
The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said separately that it had received a report of an incident 31 nautical miles southwest of Hodeidah.
The vessel “sustained damage” in the assault and later reported an “impact in the water in close proximity to the vessel,” the UKMTO said.
“The crew are reported safe and the vessel is proceeding to its next port of call,” the center said, adding that the vessel was proceeding to its next port of call.
Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis have launched repeated drone and missile strikes in the Red Sea region since November, later expanding to the Indian Ocean, demanding that Israel ends the war in Gaza, which has killed more than 36,000 Palestinians there.
The Houthis did not immediately acknowledge the attack, though it can take the rebels hours or even days to claim their assaults.
The rebels have launched more than 50 attacks on shipping, seized one vessel and sunk another since November, according to the United States Maritime Administration.
Shipping through the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden has declined because of the threat. In recent weeks, the tempo of Houthi attacks has dropped, though the rebels have claimed shooting down US surveillance drones.
Yemen has been wracked by conflict since the rebels seized the capital, Sanaa, in 2014. A Saudi-led coalition entered the war on the side of Yemen’s exiled government in 2015, but the conflict has remained at a stalemate for years as Riyadh tries to reach a peace deal with the Houthis.
Speaking Tuesday in Dubai, the prime minister of Yemen’s exiled, internationally recognized government urged the world to see past the Houthis’ claims of backing the Palestinians through their attacks.
“The Houthis’ exploitation of a very just cause such as the cause of our people in Palestine and what is happening in Gaza is to escape the benefits of peace and lead us to major complications that exist,” Ahmed Awad bin Mubarak told the Arab Media Forum. “Peace is a strategic choice. We must reach peace. The war must stop. This is a must. Our people need security and stability. The region itself needs stability.” [Reuters/AP/AMNA]
