A cargo ship was attacked by Houthi terrorists off the coast of Yemen on Sunday.
British maritime authorities said that the attack happened 35 nautical miles south of Al Mukha, Yemen, in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait connecting the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.
An explosion happened in close proximity to the Belize-Flagged Commercial Shipping Vessel, M/V Rubymar, resulting in damage, officials said in their initial report.
Subsequent updates said that the crew was forced to abandon the ship due to damage from a reported fire on board.
Military officials were on site providing assistance.
UKMTO WARNING UPDATE 003
ATTACKhttps://t.co/qlApy9q9pq#MaritimeSecurity #MarSec pic.twitter.com/1YY5GI4tJJ
— United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) (@UK_MTO) February 19, 2024
The private security firm Ambrey told The Associated Press that the ship was “being partially laden with cargo, but it wasn’t immediately clear what it had been carrying.”
The ship also turned off its Automatic Identification System once it entered the region to make it harder for the terrorists and Iran to locate and target the ship.
A Significant Fire is reported to be Burning aboard the Belize-Flagged Commercial Shipping Vessel, M/V Rubymar after it was Struck earlier by a Houthi Anti-Ship Ballistic Missile while transiting North through the Bab al-Mandab Strait from the Gulf of Aden into the Red Sea; the… pic.twitter.com/5JUPIRWzaA
— OSINTdefender (@sentdefender) February 19, 2024
U.S. Central Command said in a statement that it conducted “five self-defense strikes against three mobile anti-ship cruise missiles, one unmanned underwater vessel (UUV), and one unmanned surface vessel (USV) in Iranian-backed Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen.”
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“This is the first observed Houthi employment of a UUV since attacks began in Oct. 23,” the statement said. “CENTCOM identified the anti-ship cruise missiles, unmanned underwater vessel, and the unmanned surface vessel in Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen and determined they presented an imminent threat to U.S. Navy ships and merchant vessels in the region.”
Feb. 17 Summary of Red Sea activities
TAMPA, Fla. – Between the hours of 3:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. (Sanaa time), Feb. 17, CENTCOM successfully conducted five self-defense strikes against three mobile anti-ship cruise missiles, one unmanned underwater vessel (UUV), and one unmanned… pic.twitter.com/TwR9RUmMMu
— U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) February 18, 2024
The U.S. and U.K. have launched repeated strikes against the Islamic terrorist group to degrade its ability to launch attacks; however, while the strikes may have limited some of the group’s ability, it has not deterred their mission to disrupt global trade moving through the Red Sea as the attacks have now gone of for four months.
