This handout picture provided by EUNAVFOR ASPIDES on September 15, 2024, and dated September 14, shows a vessels surrounding the Greek-owned oil tanker Sounion as smoke billows from it, off the coast of Hodeida in the Red Sea. FILE PHOTO/Agence France-Presse
DUBAI — Maritime security agencies reported three explosions on Monday near a ship in the Red Sea off Yemen, while the country’s Houthi rebels claimed to have targeted a vessel there.
The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO), run by the Britain’s Royal Navy, said a captain reported “an explosion in close proximity” to his merchant ship.
A second explosion followed, and the captain reported no damage and that “all crew are reported to be safe”. The captain later reported a third explosion, the agency said, although the vessel and crew were still reported as safe.
READ: Yemen’s Houthis claim two ship attacks
It was the first attack on shipping reported by the UKMTO since US B-2 heavy stealth bombers hit multiple Houthi targets including weapons storage facilities on October 17.
At the time, the Houthis said the attack would “not pass without a response”.
Later on Monday, the rebels said they had targeted a ship they named as the Motaro in the Red Sea and the Bab al-Mandab Strait, calling the strikes “accurate and direct”.
According to the Marine Traffic ship-tracking site, the Motaro is a bulk carrier flying the Liberian flag.
Maritime security firm Ambrey also reported two blasts near a merchant ship, adding that the vessel had “a private armed security team” on board.
READ: Missile attack by Yemen’s Houthi rebels damages ship in Red Sea
The Houthis, part of the “axis of resistance” of Iran-aligned groups, have targeted ships they say are linked to Israel in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden since last November in support for Palestinians during the Israel-Hamas war.
The attacks have seriously disrupted the Red Sea route which carries 12 percent of global trade, triggering reprisal strikes by the United States and Britain against rebel targets in Yemen.
In more than 100 Houthi attacks over nearly a year, four sailors have been killed and two ships have sunk, while one vessel and its crew remain detained since being hijacked last November.