UK-owned ship ‘ hit by rocket’ in Red Sea

A BRITISH- OWNED ship and an American destroyer reportedly came under attack last night in the Red Sea.

The Bahamas-flagged vessel, called the Unity Explorer, was ‘struck by a rocket’ while sailing south around 35 nautical miles off Yemen’s western coast, maritime security firm Ambrey said.

Yemen’s Iranian-backed Houthi militants have fired a series of drone and missile strikes targeting Israel since Hamas poured into the country on October 7.

Following the incidents a Houthi official posting on X, formerly known as Twitter, wrote in Arabic that ‘they will burn and drown, God willing’ in apparent reference to the attacks, while another said they had attacked two ‘Israeli’ vessels, and would carry on until ‘Israeli aggression against our steadfast brothers in the Gaza Strip stops’.

The US department of defence later said a Navy vessel, the USS Carney, had come under attack.

The Pentagon said: ‘We’re aware of reports regarding attacks on the USS Carney and commercial vessels in the Red Sea.’

A US defence official told the Washington Post that the Carney destroyed at least two drones after it received a distress signal from the Unity Explorer.

The waterway is crucial to global trade, with the spike in maritime incidents already prompting G7 foreign ministers to urge the rebels to cease threats to international shipping and release the hijacked Galaxy Leader, another Israeli-linked tanker.

Last week the Royal Navy ordered one of its most advanced warships, HMS Diamond, to the Gulf to defend against attacks, which have surged in solidarity with Hamas. The Houthis are armed and ultimately controlled by the Iranian regime, and have used by proxy by Tehran in a vicious ongoing civil war against Saudi-backed forces in Yemen.

Ambrey said the British-owned ship – travelling to Singapore from the US – was linked to Dan David Ungar, a British citizen listed as an Israeli resident by Companies House.

The firm said: ‘The bulker was reportedly struck by a rocket and the crew retreated to the citadel.

‘The affected vessel was issuing distress calls relating to piracy/missile attack.’

The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations agency, run by the Royal Navy, said it received up to three reports of drone attacks in the area yesterday, and advised ships in the area to ‘exercise caution’.

Global shipping has increasingly been targeted as the Israel-Hamas war threatens to become a wider regional conflict – even as a truce briefly halted fighting and the terrorist group exchanged hostages for Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.

However, the collapse of the truce and resumption of Israeli airstrikes raised the risk of the seaborne attacks resuming.

The MoD was contacted for comment.