Yemeni Houthi rebels attack ship in Gulf of Aden as Eisenhower reportedly heads home

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — An attack by Yemen’s Houthi rebels targeted a merchant ship transiting the Gulf of Aden but did not appear to cause damage, authorities said Saturday, the group’s latest assault on the shipping route.

The Houthi rebel attack came after the sinking of the Tutor ship earlier this week, marking an apparent new escalation in the campaign of attacks by the Iran-backed Houthi rebels on ships in the vital maritime corridor linked to the war between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

Meanwhile, U.S. authorities have reportedly ordered the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower, the aircraft carrier leading the American response to the Houthi attacks, to return home after a twice-extended voyage.

The captain of the attacked ship saw “explosions near the ship” late Friday night, the British military’s United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations Center said. A later briefing by the US-monitored Joint Maritime Information Center said the ship initially reported two explosions on the port side, then a third.

“The ship was not hit and sustained no damage,” the center said. “The ship and crew are reportedly safe and proceeding to their next port of call.”

The Houthis, who have held the Yemeni capital Sanaa since 2014, claimed responsibility for the attack on Saturday evening. Brigadier General Yahya Saree, a military spokesman for the Houthis, identified the attacked ship as the bulk carrier Transworld Navigator.

The Houthis have carried out more than 60 attacks on specific vessels and fired more missiles and drones as part of their campaign, which has killed a total of four sailors. They have hijacked one ship and sunk two since November. A US-led airstrike campaign has targeted the Houthis since January. A series of attacks on May 30 killed at least 16 people and wounded 42 others, according to the rebels.

In March, the Belize-flagged Rubymar, a fertilizer-carrying ship, became the first ship to sink in the Red Sea after taking on water for days following a rebel attack.

The Houthis claim their attacks are against ships linked to Israel, the US or Britain. However, many of the ships attacked have little or no connection to the war between Israel and Hamas.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Naval Institute’s intelligence service, citing an anonymous official, reported that the Eisenhower would return to Norfolk, Virginia, after more than eight months of combat operations that the Navy said were the most intense since World War II. The report said an aircraft carrier operating in the Pacific would take the Eisenhower’s place.

The next known American aircraft carrier in Asia is the USS Theodore Roosevelt. The Roosevelt anchored in Busan, South Korea, on Saturday, amid ongoing tensions between Seoul and North Korea.

The Eisenhower was repeatedly the target of false claims of attack by the Houthis during its time in the Red Sea. Saree claimed on Saturday evening that the aircraft carrier had been attacked again – but again provided no evidence of this, as the aircraft carrier was reportedly already due to leave the region.