In the second confirmed incident within 24 hours, Yemen’s Houthi militants attacked another commercial vessel in the Gulf of Aden.
Unlike the previous attempt on Wednesday, in which a Houthi missile attacking an AP Moller-Maersk ship was shot down midair by a coalition warship, the projectile fired on Thursday landed close to its intended target, the 6,078-teu MSC Darwin VI (built 1999).
According to the UK Maritime Trade Operations, the master of the ship reported hearing “a loud bang”, accompanied by a “splash and smoke seen coming from the sea”.
The crew and vessel are safe and receiving help from military authorities in the area, the UKMTO said.
The attack took place at 0715 GMT, 15 nautical miles (28 km) southwest of Aden.
Officials at the ship’s owner, MSC Mediterranean Shipping Company, did not respond to a request for comment.
The Houthis' military spokesman Yahya Saree formally claimed the attack on the MSC Darwin VI late on Thursday, saying the ship was targeted by “a number of... missiles and... drones”.
This is not the first time the Yemeni group targeted that vessel.
Saree had claimed another operation against the MSC Darwin VI on 9 April. However, no other maritime intelligence or military source corroborated Saree’s statement at the time.
In contrast, early on 25 April US military sources confirmed Houthi claims of an attempted attack against the 2,500-teu Maersk Yorktown (built 2004) the day before.
However, a Western coalition warship — most likely the UK navy's HMS Diamond — shot down the anti-ship ballistic missile targeting that vessel.
The US-flagged Maersk Yorktown was the target of a Houthi strike on 9 April as well.
Sustained campaign
The Houthis have launched more than 80 attacks against commercial ships in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden since mid-November, in retaliation for Israel’s US-backed military campaign against the Palestinian Hamas group in Gaza.
The attacks — carried out through drones, missiles, attempted boardings and one hijacking — have caused the death of three seafarers and 10 Houthi fighters, and 25 crew members being taken hostage on the 5,100-ceu Galaxy Leader (built 2002).
Furthermore, retaliatory Western air force strikes on Houthi-controlled territory in Yemen have caused other victims.
Most Houthi attacks are repulsed or miss their targets completely. However, about a dozen vessels were hit, with one of them sinking. No ship has been directly hit by the Houthis since 23 March.
The Houthis’ official policy is to target only vessels associated with Israel, the US and the UK.
However, the attacks have become indiscriminate over time — whether by accident or design.
