06-07-2025
Houthis set ship on fire with drone-boat attack in Red Sea
Yemen's Houthi rebels are believed to have carried out an assault on a merchant vessel in the Red Sea using small attack craft, rocket-propelled grenades and locally produced drone boats.
An unidentified ship came under fire in the early hours of Sunday morning, the UK's Maritime Trade Operations centre reported, adding that an armed security team on board had returned fire.
The organisation later said the ship was ablaze after being struck with 'unknown projectiles'.
The Iran-backed Houthi militia had yet to claim responsibility on Sunday night, but the group has carried out a wave of attacks around the Strait of Hormuz since launching a maritime blockade in 2023 over Israel's war in Gaza.
Ambrey, a private maritime security firm, said eight skiffs had attacked the ship around 100 kilometres (62 miles) south of Hodeidah, the port city controlled by the Houthis.
It added that two drone boats struck the ship, while two more were destroyed by the vessel's armed guards.
'Houthi target profile'
Last year, the Houthis unveiled the Toufan-1 drone boat, which they said carried a 150kg warhead and could travel at 35 nautical miles per hour.
The group recently released footage of drone boats slaloming through a course of buoys in the open ocean.
Since the Houthis' maritime blockade began, on the orders of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran's Supreme Leader, at least 174 attacks have been launched against the US Navy and 145 attacks on global shipping, according to the US State Department.
The strikes have sunk two merchant vessels and killed four sailors, vastly reducing the flow of trade through the Red Sea corridor which typically sees $1 trillion (£732.6 billion) of goods pass through it annually.
It was unclear last night which flag the attacked ship was flying but Ambrey said the vessel met 'the established Houthi target profile', without elaborating.
While the Houthis gave assurances that US-linked vessels would not be targeted following a ceasefire announced with Washington in May, the militia has continued to fire missiles at Israel and target global shipping.
