A commercial ship in the Gulf of Aden witnessed explosions nearby, reportedly attributed to Yemen’s Houthi rebels targeting the shipping route, according to authorities on Saturday.
The recent firing by the Houthis follows the sinking of the ship Tutor earlier this week, signaling a heightened escalation by the Iranian-backed Houthis in their ongoing campaign of ship attacks in the crucial maritime corridor, amidst the Israel-Hamas conflict in the Gaza Strip.
Meanwhile, reports indicate that U.S. officials have instructed the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower, the aircraft carrier leading America’s response to the Houthi attacks, to return home.
According to The Associated Press, on Friday night, the captain of the targeted ship reported seeing “explosions near the vessel,” as per the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations center of the British military.
The UKMTO confirmed that the crew is safe and the ship is continuing its journey to its next port of call. However, there was no immediate information on whether the ship sustained any damage.
The Houthis, who have held Yemen’s capital, Sanaa, since 2014, did not immediately claim responsibility for the attack. Typically, the rebels take hours or even days to acknowledge their actions.
Earlier on Friday, the Houthis released footage showing one of their drone boats named “Tufan” or “Flood,” which they said had targeted the Tutor.
The Houthis have conducted more than 60 attacks targeting specific vessels and have deployed additional missiles and drones as part of their ongoing campaign. These actions have resulted in the deaths of four sailors thus far. Since November, they have seized one vessel and sunk two others. In response, a U.S.-led airstrike campaign has been targeting the Houthis since January. The rebels claim that a series of airstrikes on May 30 caused at least 16 fatalities and left 42 others injured.
The Houthis claim that their attacks are aimed at ships associated with Israel, the United States, or Britain. However, many of the targeted ships have minimal or no connection to the conflict between Israel and Hamas.
Meanwhile, according to the U.S. Naval Institute’s news service, citing an unnamed official, the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower will be returning to Norfolk, Virginia, after an extended deployment of over eight months in what the Navy describes as its most intense combat operations since World War II. The report stated that another aircraft carrier operating in the Pacific will be deployed to take the Eisenhower’s position.
