[Regnum] On the night of July 20, unknown assailants attacked a ship in the Red Sea off the coast of Eritrea, 64 nautical miles from Yemen, the UK Navy's Maritime Trade Coordination Centre reported.
Reuters, citing a source familiar with the matter, said a container ship flying the Liberian flag was attacked. The ship sustained minor damage as a result of two strikes, the British center said in a statement.
"The first attack was carried out using an unmanned aerial vehicle, which exploded in close proximity to the vessel, causing minor damage. For the second attack, an unmanned boat was used, which exploded near the vessel," the center's press service noted.
Later, drones appeared near the ship again, the report also said. The crew is safe, and an investigation into the circumstances of the incident is underway, the press service added.
As reported by the Regnum news agency, the day before the center reported that a British ship was attacked in the Gulf of Aden off the coast of Yemen. The ship's crew was not injured.
In the fall of 2023, amid the escalation of the conflict in the Middle East, representatives of the Yemeni Ansar Allah movement (Houthis) began attacking ships associated with Israel and its allies. The Houthis threatened to prevent Israeli-affiliated ships from passing through the Red Sea until the operation in the Palestinian enclave ceased. In January 2024, the US and UK began retaliatory strikes against Yemeni rebel positions.
Ansar Allah leader Abdel Malek al-Houthi reported that since November 2023, the movement has attacked a total of 162 vessels in the Red and Arabian Seas. The attacks were carried out using ballistic and cruise missiles, as well as drones and unmanned boats.
| It sounds like the Regnum reporter believes this was another little Houthi project. |