The US Navy destroyed several Houthi boats that tried to attack a container ship in the Red Sea.
Four vessels from Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen fired on the Maersk Hangzhou and came within 20 meters of the ship.
Helicopters were launched from US warships and were fired upon by Houthi boats before sinking three of the four vessels, killing the crews. A fourth ship fled the area, US Central Command (Centcom) said.
Before the attack by the small boats, the Singapore-flagged Maersk Hangzhou reported that it had already been hit by a missile while passing through the southern Red Sea on Saturday evening and requested assistance.
The American ships USS Gravely and USS Laboon responded to the distress call and the Danish-owned vessel was found seaworthy. The US military said two anti-ship ballistic missiles fired at the container ship by Houthi militants were also shot down at the time.
Centcom said it was the 23rd attack on international shipping since November 19. Yemen’s Houthis, backed by Iran, say their attacks on a vital shipping lane are targeting vessels linked to Israel in response to the war in Gaza.
Maersk, one of the world’s largest cargo carriers, said on Sunday it would delay all transits through the area for 48 hours after the Maersk Hangzhou was hit about 55 nautical miles southwest of the Yemeni city of al-Hodeidah.
Hours after Maersk Hangzhou sent out its first distress call, it issued another regarding the attack by “four small Iranian-backed Houthi boats”.
US helicopters from the aircraft carrier USS Dwight D Eisenhower and USS Gravely responded to the distress call, and while issuing verbal warnings to the attackers, small boat crews opened fire on the helicopters with small arms, Centcom said in a statement. “US Navy helicopters returned fire in self-defense,” he added. No one on board the Maersk Hangzhou was injured.
The Houthis are allies of Hamas, whose militants attacked Israel on October 7, killing 1,200 people and taking another 240 hostage. After the attack, Israel vowed to root out Hamas, which controls Gaza, and launched an aerial bombardment, blockade and ground offensive that killed more than 21,000 people in the territory, according to medics.
The Houthis say their attacks are aimed at ending Israeli air and ground operations against Gaza. The attacks disrupted world trade and major shipping companies took the longer and more expensive route around Africa’s Cape of Good Hope rather than going through the Suez Canal.
The Red Sea is the entry point for ships using the Suez Canal, which carries about 12 percent of world trade and is vital for moving goods between Asia and Europe.
On Saturday, the top commander of US naval forces in the Middle East, Vice Admiral Brad Cooper, said the Houthis show no signs of ending their “reckless” attacks on commercial shipping in the Red Sea, even as more nations join international shipping. the mission to protect vessels on the vital waterway and commercial traffic begins to gain momentum.
Since the Pentagon announced Operation Prosperity Guardian — which includes the United Kingdom — nearly two weeks ago to counter the attacks, 1,200 merchant ships have passed through the Red Sea area and none have been hit by drones or missiles, Vice Admiral Cooper said.
