Iranian-backed Houthi militants claimed Monday that they had launched one of their most damaging attacks yet on a ship, saying that a strike put a British cargo vessel at risk of sinking.
U.S. Central Command said that two anti-ship ballistic missiles were launched from Houthi-controlled areas in Yemen toward a Belize-flagged, British-owned ship in the Gulf of Aden on Sunday night, but that only one missile struck the ship. Heeding the ship’s distress signals, a merchant vessel and a coalition warship helped the crew members, who abandoned ship and were safely taken to a nearby port, Centcom added.
The Djibouti Ports & Free Zones Authority said the ship, the MV Rubymar, was carrying about 22 metric tons of fertilizer that it called “very dangerous.” The vessel was headed to Belarus from its last port in the United Arab Emirates, the authority added.
Its 24-member crew — a group of Syrians, Egyptians, Indians and Filipinos — was rescued, the authority said. The boat was abandoned at Bab el-Mandeb, the Djibouti Authority said Monday, adding that “the Automated Identification System is switched off, we do not know the coordinates of Rubymar.”
Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree on Monday said that “the ship was severely damaged, leading to its complete halt. … It is now at risk of sinking in the Gulf Aden.” The Washington Post could not independently verify that claim. On Tuesday, Planet Labs published satellite images that it said showed the MV Rubymar near the Bab el-Mandeb Strait that day. The photos appear to show the ship still afloat.
As Houthis vow to fight on, U.S. prepares for sustained campaign
Saree added that the Houthis targeted and shot down an American MQ-9 Reaper unmanned aircraft in the airspace of Yemen’s western Hodeida governorate. He said the Houthis used a “homemade surface-to-air missile” to down the Reaper, and reposted unverified video on X of a midair blast and apparent scraps of the aircraft. The Post could not independently verify the claim.
In his statement, Saree said that in the past 24 hours, the Houthis had also targeted two American ships in the Gulf of Aden, the Sea Champion and the Navis Fortuna.
The Houthis have been attacking commercial and naval vessels traversing the Red Sea since November to protest Israel’s military campaign in the Gaza Strip.
Last month, the United States launched a military campaign targeting the Houthis and their infrastructure, but attempts to deter the rebels’ attacks on maritime commerce have not succeeded. Saree on Monday said the group would halt its attacks when “the siege on the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip is lifted.”
Imogen Piper contributed to this report.