AMBERY: Commercial ship attacked by drone southwest of Hodeidah

A commercial vessel was hit by a drone about 58 nautical miles southwest of Hodeidah, Yemen, British maritime security firm Ambrey said early Friday.

She added in an advisory note that no injuries or material damage were reported, according to Reuters.

The incident comes hours after the UK Maritime Trade Operations ( UKMTO ) announced that a commercial ship was subjected to a double attack 45 nautical miles south of Mokha, western Yemen.

The authority said that it received a report from the captain of a commercial ship stating that it had been attacked by an RPG shell that exploded near the ship from two small black and white vehicles, each carrying four people wearing white and yellow raincoats.

She added that the captain returned later and reported another missile attack that exploded near the ship.

The authority reported that the ship and its crew are fine, and that the ship is heading to the next port of call.

This comes at a time when the Iranian-backed Houthi militia has resumed its naval attacks on cargo ships over the past three days, after a hiatus that lasted more than 10 days following the Israeli aggression on the port of Hodeidah.

Since last November, the Iran-backed Houthi militia has been launching drone and missile attacks on cargo ships sailing in the Red Sea, Bab al-Mandab and the Gulf of Aden off the coast of Yemen, claiming that this is in support of Gaza, which has been subjected to a devastating Israeli war since October 7. These attacks have negatively affected shipping, trade and global supply chains.

As a result, the United States formed a military coalition led by it, and since the beginning of this year, it has been carrying out strikes alongside Britain that it says target the Houthis’ military capabilities, in response to their attacks on cargo ships. The Houthis responded by attacking American and British naval vessels, considering them “military targets.”