A ship is attacked in the Red Sea off the coast of Yemen and fills up, authorities say

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — A ship was attacked in the Red Sea off the coast of Yemen on Tuesday. A private security company said radio traffic suggested the vessel took on water after the impact.

None of the groups immediately claimed responsibility for the incident, but suspicion immediately fell on the Yemeni Houthi rebels, who had carried out several attacks on ships in the Gaza Strip in connection with Israel’s war against Hamas.

Few further details were initially known about the attack, as the British Maritime Trade Operations Center reported. It occurred off the port city of Hodeidah in the southern Red Sea, near the Bab el-Mandeb strait that connects it to the Gulf of Aden.

The private security company Ambrey said the ship had reported by radio that “the cargo hold was damaged and water was entering.” It said it had been the target of a missile attack.

The location of the attack matched the Marshall Islands-flagged bulk carrier Laax. The vessel was reportedly en route to Fujairah in the United Arab Emirates.

The Laax is managed by Grehel Ship Management of Piraeus, Greece. A man who answered the phone at Grehel declined to answer questions about the attack, and an emailed request for comment went unanswered.

The Houthis have launched attacks on ships in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden in recent months and are demanding that Israel end the war in Gaza that has killed more than 36,000 Palestinians there. The war began after Hamas-led militants attacked Israel on October 7, killing about 1,200 people and taking about 250 hostage.

According to the US Maritime Administration, the Houthis have launched more than 50 attacks on ships since November, hijacking one ship and sinking another.

The threat has led to a reduction in shipping traffic across the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden. In recent weeks, the frequency of Houthi attacks has decreased, although the rebels have claimed to have shot down US surveillance drones.

Yemen has been plagued by conflict since rebels seized the capital Sanaa in 2014. A Saudi-led coalition entered the war on the side of Yemen’s government in exile in 2015, but the conflict has stalled for years as Riyadh tries to reach a peace deal with the Houthis.

In a speech in Dubai on Tuesday, the prime minister of Yemen’s internationally recognized government in exile called on the world to ignore the Houthis’ claims that they are supporting the Palestinians in their attacks.

“The Houthis are exploiting a very just cause like that of our people in Palestine and what is happening in Gaza to bypass the benefits of peace and lead us into great complications,” Ahmed Awad bin Mubarak told the Arab Media Forum. “Peace is a strategic choice. We must achieve peace. The war must stop. This is a must. Our people need security and stability. The region itself needs stability.”