Houthi militants fired two missiles in the direction of a CMA CGM-operated container ship that is linked to US banking giant JP Morgan.
US Central Command said on Thursday that two anti-ship ballistic missiles were launched from Houthi-controlled territory in Yemen, and the 8,600-teu container ship Koi (built 2011) was the likely target, although the vessel is undamaged.
But a source with knowledge of the situation said that the Koi was operating in the convoy and it was not clear which ship was targeted.
“The missiles impacted in the water without hitting the ship. There were no injuries and no damage reported to the … Koi or coalition ships in the area,” Central Command said on X, formerly known as Twitter.
The latest attack came a day after a Houthi spokesman claimed an earlier attack against the vessel in the Gulf of Aden. But the source denied that the ship was targeted in that instance.
Central Command, which coordinates US military forces in the region, described the Koi as a “Liberian-flagged, Bermuda-owned” vessel.
The Koi is owned by Oceanix Services, a UK-registered company controlled by a fund advised by JP Morgan Asset Management, according to data from Equasis, UK Companies House and the US Securities & Exchange Commission. VesselsValue’s database places the vessel in the fleet of Bermuda-registered Global Meridian Holdings, widely described as a JP Morgan affiliate.
CMA CGM did not immediately respond to requests for comment. A JP Morgan spokeswoman declined to comment, citing safety and security reasons.
Earlier on Thursday, Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree said Houthi forces attacked a “British commercial ship” in the Red Sea that he said was heading to Israel.
“The operations of the Yemeni armed forces in the Arab and Red Bahrain against Israeli shipping or ships heading to the ports of occupied Palestine will continue until the aggression stops and the siege on the Gaza Strip is lifted,” he said, according to a machine translation.
On Wednesday, TradeWinds reported that a source with knowledge of the situation described Houthi claims that they had hit the vessel as incorrect, and that the vessel had slowed down and changed course to carry out a medevac of an ill crew member.
Also on Thursday, US forces conducted strikes that destroyed an uncrewed surface vehicle (a floating drone) in the Red Sea.
“US forces identified the USV heading toward the international shipping lane and determined it presented an imminent threat to merchant vessels and the US Navy ships in the region,” Central Command said. “US forces subsequently struck and destroyed the USV in self-defence resulting in significant secondary explosions.”
Central Command said its forces also shot down an aerial drone over the Gulf of Aden.
There were no injuries or damage in either drone incident.
