A Greek-flagged oil tanker traveling through the Red Sea was subjected to repeated attacks on Wednesday, leaving the vessel adrift and ablaze after an assault suspected to be carried out by Yemen’s Houthi rebels, according to the British military.
The attack, the most serious in the Red Sea in weeks, comes amid a monthslong campaign by the Houthis targeting ships in response to the ongoing conflict in the Gaza Strip. This campaign has disrupted a trade route through which $1 trillion in cargo typically passes each year.
In the attack, individuals on small boats initially opened fire with small arms approximately 90 miles west of the rebel-held Yemeni port city of Hodeida, the British military’s Maritime Trade Operations center reported.
Four projectiles also struck the ship, the center added. It was not immediately clear if these were drones or missiles.
“The vessel reports being not under command,” the UKMTO stated, likely indicating a loss of power. “No casualties reported.”
Later, the UKMTO warned that the ship was drifting while on fire in the Red Sea.
The Greek shipping ministry subsequently identified the vessel as the tanker Sounion, which had 25 crew members on board at the time of the attack as it traveled from Iraq to Cyprus.
Later on Wednesday, the UKMTO reported a second ship being targeted in the Gulf of Aden by three explosions in the water close to it, although these caused no damage.
The Houthis did not immediately claim responsibility for the attacks, although they may take hours or even days to acknowledge their assaults.
The Houthis have targeted over 80 vessels with missiles and drones since the war in Gaza began in October. They have seized one vessel and sunk two in the campaign, which has also resulted in the deaths of four sailors.
Other missiles and drones have been either intercepted by a U.S.-led coalition in the Red Sea or failed to reach their targets.
The rebels contend that they target ships linked to Israel, the United States, or the UK in an effort to force an end to Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza. However, many of the ships attacked have little or no connection to the conflict, including some bound for Iran.
The Houthis have also launched drones and missiles toward Israel, including an attack on July 19 that killed one person and injured 10 others in Tel Aviv. Israel responded the following day with airstrikes on Hodeida that struck fuel depots and electrical stations, killing and injuring a number of people, according to the rebels.
Following the strikes, the Houthis paused their attacks until Aug. 3, when they hit a Liberian-flagged container ship traveling through the Gulf of Aden. A Liberian-flagged oil tanker was subjected to a particularly intense series of attacks beginning Aug. 8, likely carried out by the rebels. A similar attack occurred on Aug. 13 as well.
The last three recent attacks, including Wednesday’s, targeted vessels associated with Delta Tankers, a Greek company.
As Iran threatens to retaliate against Israel over the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran, the U.S. military instructed the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier strike group to sail more quickly to the area. America has also ordered the USS Georgia-guided missile submarine into the Mideast, while the USS Theodore Roosevelt aircraft carrier strike group was in the Gulf of Oman.
Additional F-22 fighter jets have flown into the region and the USS Wasp, a large amphibious assault ship carrying F-35 fighter jets, is in the Mediterranean Sea.