A merchant vessel reported it had been attacked early on Monday by three small craft in the Red Sea about 70 nautical miles southwest of Yemen’s port city of Hodeidah, Britain’s maritime agency and security firm Ambrey said.
Another British maritime agency, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO), reported that an unmanned small craft collided with the vessel twice and two manned small craft fired at it,
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack. But since November, the Iran-aligned Houthi rebels in Yemen has launched drone and missile strikes in shipping lanes in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden.
The vessel conducted “self-protection measures,” then after 15 minutes the small craft aborted the attack, UKMTO said.
Earlier on Sunday the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) reported that its forces successfully destroyed two Iranian-backed Houthi rebels uncrewed aerial vehicles (UAV) and one uncrewed surface vessel (USV) in the Red Sea plus one Houthi UAV in a Houthi-controlled area of Yemen.
CENTCOM added “It was determined these systems presented an imminent threat to U.S., coalition forces, and merchant vessels in the region. These actions were taken to protect freedom of navigation and make international waters safer and more secure.”