Houthi militants have scored their second hit on a merchant vessel in less than a week.

An Eastern Mediterranean Maritime bulker was damaged when it was targeted by three missiles and three drones on 29 April, as it was sailing 54 nautical miles (100 km) west of the Yemeni port of Mocha.

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Despite the hit, the 60,400-dwt Cyclades (built 2017) and its crew are safe and headed to its next port of call, US and UK military authorities said.

Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree confirmed in an X post that the Yemeni militants had targeted the vessel, allegedly because it was heading towards Israel.

UK officials were first to report early on Monday that an explosion was seen near the vessel in the southern Red Sea.

Italy’s defence ministry later described a multi-pronged attack on a merchant ship in the area. An explosion in the water near the vessel, which it did not identify, caused “only minor superficial damage”.

The Virginio Fasan, an Italian navy frigate that was escorting, shot down a drone headed in the direction of the vessel.

“Complex attacks with missiles and drones had already occurred during the morning, foiled thanks to the evasive manoeuvres carried out by the merchant ship following instructions from the warship Fasan’s command,” the ministry said.

The Cyclades, a Malta-flagged ultramax, is insured by NorthStandard. Eastmed, a Greek owner of 85 ships and newbuildings, did not immediately respond to an email seeking confirmation, and its dedicated media phone line rang unanswered.

According to Saree, the ship was targeted because it was allegedly heading to Israel’s port of Eilat “using … deception by claiming that it was heading to another port”.

It is official Houthi policy to target vessels that are affiliated with the US, the UK and Israel or that are trading with Israel, to pressure the Israeli government to stop its military campaign against the Palestinian Hamas group in Gaza.

The Cyclades may not have been the only ship the Yemeni group went after on Monday.

In his statement late in the day, Saree claimed that the Houthis separately sent drones against the 15,000-teu MSC Orion (built 2020), which was underway in the Arabian Sea. Unlike the Cyclades, they did not claim to have actually hit that ship.

As with other long-distance operations in the Indian Ocean recently claimed by the Iranian-backed Houthis, however, the alleged attempt against the MSC Orion has not been confirmed by any other military or maritime intelligence source.

The MSC Orion is a sistership to the MSC Aries, which Iranian airborne forces seized earlier this month. Both vessels are owned by affiliates of Zodiac Maritime and managed and operated by MSC Mediterranean Shipping Co.

Damages are piling up

Monday’s incident comes three days after the first ship was damaged by a Houthi missile in more than a month.

UK authorities said the master of that vessel reported two attacks, including a missile strike that damaged the ship.

Saree said the ship targeted in that incident was the 115,600-dwt crude tanker Andromeda Star (built 2009).

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The Houthis have been targeting ships in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden since October, after war erupted between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.

Data from Clarksons shows that the Houthi menace continues to be keeping a large share of vessels out of the region.

The shipbroking giant’s Clarksons Research division said in its Red Sea disruption market tracker that last week’s tonnage arrivals in the Gulf of Aden were down 69% compared with December.

Container ships and gas carriers are hardest hit. Boxship arrivals last week were down 89% compared with December, while there were no LNG carrier transits.

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