Tuesday's attack on a commercial ship was carried out by the Islamist Houthi rebel forces in Yemen, carrying on a pattern of attacks on foreign cargoes in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden.
The Mediterranean Shipping Company container ship MSC United was the target of a missile strike by Houthi maritime troops, according to a statement released by spokesperson Yahya Saree on Tuesday on the social networking platform X.
Before the attack, Mr. Saree said, the Houthi side had warned the crew of the MSC United several times, but they had disregarded them.
In a statement provided to Bloomberg News, the Mediterranean Shipping Company verified the attack that occurred on Tuesday. Although the shipping firm is assessing the damage caused by the missile assault, it reported that every member of the crew is safe and unharmed.
The incident on Tuesday occurred when the MSC United was sailing from Saudi Arabia to Pakistan.
Mr. Saree added that on Tuesday, Houthi militants not only attacked the MSC United but also targeted the Israeli port city of Eilat with missile and drone assaults.
The internationally recognized government of Yemen has been engaged in sporadic fighting with the Houthis, also known as Ansar Allah, a Zaydi Shiite militia, since 2004. Following the Houthis' capture of Sanaa, the capital of Yemen, in September 2014, the conflict grew, with Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states intervening on behalf of the Yemeni government in the civil war. In the latter days of its existence, the Trump administration designated the Houthis as a terrorist organization; however, the Biden administration quickly revoked that label, leading many to conclude that they are also supported by Iran.
The Houthi movement has moved its military attention to the continuous battle between the Israeli military and the terrorist organization Hamas in the Gaza Strip, while efforts to establish a truce in Yemen have caused the civil war there to lessen recently. In support of Hamas, the Houthi rebel forces have attacked Israel with many drone and missile strikes as well as by attacking merchant ships in the Red Sea that are connected to Israel.
On November 20, MV Galaxy Leader, a cargo ship flying the flag of the Bahamas, was attacked by Houthi militants using helicopters. The ship was taken over in the Red Sea, and its twenty-five crew members were taken prisoner. This month, Mr. Saree asserted that Houthi was accountable for firing the missile that struck the tanker ship Strinda, flying the Norwegian flag, causing an apparent fire but no injuries.
Major multinational shipping companies like Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd have already halted some of their trade via the Red Sea and rerouted ships around the southern end of Africa due to this pattern of Houthi strikes.
As part of a pressure campaign he claims is intended to let more humanitarian supplies into the Gaza Strip, Mr. Saree stated in a news release on Tuesday that the Houthi side would continue to target Israeli ports and marine transport.
