Another ship attack in the Red Sea prompts the US Navy to return the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower

The USS Dwight D. Eisenhower returns to port in Norfolk, Virginia, following an attack on a merchant ship sailing through the Gulf of Aden late Friday.

According to the British maritime trade department “United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations”, the captain of the attacked ship reported that he had seen “explosions near the ship”. It is unclear whether the ship sustained any damage.

“The crew is safe and the ship is proceeding to its next port of call,” the UKMTO said.

The perpetrators of this attack are believed to be the Yemeni Houthis rebels, who just last week attacked the Tutor, a Greek ship that eventually sank. The Iran-backed Houthis have expanded their attacks on the maritime corridor, which is crucial for the transport of maritime supplies supporting Hamas in the Israel-Hamas war.

The Houthis have not yet claimed responsibility for Friday’s attacks, but in the past they have sometimes taken several days before taking responsibility for an attack.

So far, the Houthis have carried out more than 60 attacks on specific vessels. Their missiles and drones have been responsible for the deaths of four sailors. Since November, the rebel group, which has controlled the Yemeni capital Sanaa since 2014, has sunk two ships and hijacked one. In a rebel attack in March, the Belize Rubymar, loaded with fertilizer, was the first ship to sink in the Red Sea. The group says it only attacks ships linked to Israel, the United States or Britain, but like the Rubymar, many of the damaged vessels have no connection to the war in Gaza.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER

The Eisenhower has been in service for eight months. Navy officials say this is the most intensive use of the ship since World War II. The ship was instrumental in the US response to the Houthi attacks and will be replaced by another aircraft carrier.

“After completing a planned exercise in the Indo-Pacific, the USS Theodore Roosevelt Carrier Strike Group (TR CSG) will arrive in the U.S. Central Command area of ​​responsibility to continue to promote regional stability, deter aggression, and protect the free flow of commerce in the region,” Pentagon press secretary Major General Pat Ryder said in a statement.