Houthi rebels in Yemen likely attack ship in Gulf of Aden while Eisenhower is reportedly on his way home

Meanwhile, US authorities have reportedly ordered the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower, the aircraft carrier leading the American response to the Houthi attacks, to return home.

The captain of the attacked ship saw “explosions near the ship” late Friday, the British military’s United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations Center said.

“The crew is safe and the ship is proceeding to its next port of call,” the UKMTO said, without elaborating on whether the ship had sustained any damage.

The Houthis, who have held Yemen’s capital Sanaa since 2014, did not immediately admit to the attack. However, it may take hours or even days for the rebels to admit their attacks.

On Friday, the Houthis released footage from one of their drone boats, the Tufan (English for “Flood”), which they said was targeting the Tutor.

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.