Commercial ship hit twice by shells in Red Sea

September 2 (EUROPA PRESS) –

The UK Maritime Trade Operations service (UKMTO), linked to the Royal Navy, reported early Monday morning on an incident in the Red Sea in which a commercial vessel was hit by two projectiles allegedly launched by the Houthi rebels of Yemen, who have not yet commented on the matter but have been carrying out such operations regularly for several months.

“The master of a merchant vessel reports that the vessel has been hit by two unknown projectiles. The master reports a third explosion near the vessel. There are no casualties on board and the vessel is proceeding to its next port of call,” the UKMTO said in a statement.

The incident took place some 130 kilometres northwest of the Houthi-controlled Yemeni city of Salif, prompting the UKMTO to call on other ships in the area to transit with “caution” and report “any suspicious activity”.

The Houthis, who have controlled the Yemeni capital Sanaa and other areas in the north and west of the country since 2015, have launched several attacks against Israeli territory and against ships with some kind of Israeli connection following the offensive unleashed against Gaza after the attacks carried out on October 7 by the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas).

They have also attacked US and British ships and other strategic assets in response to the bombings of Yemen by these countries, an intervention that Washington and London have based on their desire to guarantee the safety of navigation in the Red Sea, the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean.