A merchant vessel was hit by a missile 125 nautical miles east of Yemen‘s port of Aden, but “no fires, water ingress, or oil leaks were observed,” and the vessel is proceeding to its next port of call, British maritime agency UKMTO and British security firm Ambrey both confirmed on Saturday.
Earlier reports from UKMTO and Ambrey indicated that the vessel might have been hit by an unknown explosive, potentially causing a fire on board.
There were no injuries and all crew were reported safe, UKMTO and Ambrey said in their advisory notes.
UKMTO added that it was the same vessel it identified as the MV GROTON involved in an incident it reported earlier, 170 nautical miles also east of Aden.
Ambrey also reported the incident saying that it “assessed that the vessel had been targeted earlier today and reported a close-proximity explosion.”
Earlier on Saturday, U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) reported that its forces successfully destroyed one Iranian-backed Houthi rebels land attack cruise missile (LACM) in Houthi-controlled territory in Yemen.
As always, since it started its operations in the area CENCOM concluded that It was determined the LACM presented an imminent threat to U.S. and coalition forces, and merchant vessels in the region, adding “that its forces actions were taken to protect freedom of navigation and make international waters safer and more secure.