British agency: Merchant ship attacked by drone off Yemen’s Red Sea coast

HODEIDAH: A merchant ship was damaged by a drone attack in Red Sea An incident occurred near Yemen early Sunday morning, but no injuries were reported, according to a British maritime safety authority.

Ships in and around the Red Sea have been repeatedly attacked for months by the Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen, who say they are supporting the Palestinians during the war between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

The attack occurred about 65 nautical miles (120 kilometers) west of the Yemeni port city of Hodeidah, the United Kingdom maritime trade operations, operated by the British Navy.

“The captain of a merchant vessel reports being struck by an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAS), causing damage to the vessel. All crew members are safe and the vessel is proceeding to its next port of call,” the agency said in a bulletin.

“The authorities are investigating,” it said, without however naming the perpetrators of the attack.

On Saturday, the US Central Command, which has carried out retaliatory strikes against the Houthis for their attacks on ships, said it had destroyed three of the group’s nautical drones in the past 24 hours.

It said the group fired three anti-ship missiles into the Gulf of Aden, but no injuries or significant damage were reported.