US Navy sends helicopters to defend vessel from Houthi attack in Red Sea
▶ Several small boats approaching the merchant container ship destroyed, Americans say
The US Navy destroyed several small boats that were attempting to attack a merchant vessel in the Red Sea, US Central Command said yesterday.
Centcom said the Iran-backed Houthi group sent four boats to attack the Denmark-owned and operated, Singapore-flagged Maersk Hangzhou container ship.
It responded to a distress call and sent helicopters to defend the ship.
The vessel was approached by the boats which came within 20 metres of it before gunmen fired at it and attempted to board, prompting an exchange of fire with its security, Centcom said.
The rebels also shot at the helicopters, which returned fire “in self-defence, sinking three of the four boats and killing the crews”, Centcom added.
The fourth boat fled the area and there was no damage to US personnel or equipment, it said.
The Maersk Hangzhou had earlier been hit by a missile as it crossed the south of the Red Sea, Centcom said.
The USS Gravely and USS Laboon responded to the ship following the attacks.
“The vessel is reportedly seaworthy and there are no reported injuries,” Centcom said.
US forces intercepted two other ballistic missiles fired by the Houthis against the ship.
The Houthis, who control much of Yemen, have disrupted world trade for weeks with attacks on ships passing through the Red Sea in what they say is a response to Israel’s war in Gaza.
This was the 23rd attack by the Houthis on international shipping since November 19, Centcom said.
On Saturday, the UK Maritime Trade Operations said it had received a report of an incident in the Red Sea about 100km south-west of the Yemeni port of Hodeidah, Reuters reported.
The master of the unidentified ship reported “a loud bang accompanied by a flash on the port bow of the vessel” and several explosions in the vicinity of the area, UKMTO said.
No damage was reported and all crew were said to be safe.
The vessel cleared the area at full speed to the next port of call, it said.
Several shipping lines have suspended operations through the Red Sea in response to the attacks and are taking the longer journey around Africa.
The Houthis have vowed to continue their attacks until Israel halts the conflict in Gaza and warned that it would attack US warships if the militia group itself was targeted. British Foreign Secretary David Cameron said yesterday he had spoken to Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian and told him that Iran must stop the Houthi’s attacks.
“I made clear that Iran shares responsibility for preventing these attacks, given their long-standing support to the Houthis,” he said on social media site X.
The attacks “threaten innocent lives and the global economy”, he added.
Iran’s proxy groups in Iraq, Yemen, Syria and Lebanon have increased attacks in the region to show solidarity with Gaza, which has been under Israeli bombardment following Hamas’s attack that killed about 1,200 people, most of them civilians, in Israel on October 7.
This was the 23rd attack by the Houthis on international shipping since November 19, the US said