“These attacks represent the 14th and 15th attacks on commercial shipping by Houthi militants since Oct. 17,” CENTCOM said in a post on X, formerly Twitter.
The Iran-aligned Houthis, who control much of Yemen, have disrupted world trade for weeks with attacks on ships passing through the Bab Al-Mandab Strait at the southern end of the Red Sea in what they say is a response to Israel’s war in Gaza.
The US Naval Forces Central Command responded to distress calls from two ships under attack, CENTCOM said.
A Norwegian-flagged, -owned and -operated chemical/oil tanker reported a near miss of a Houthi drone attack, and a Gabon-owned, Indian-flagged crude oil tanker reported being hit by a one-way attack, the post said.
Two Houthi anti-ship ballistic missiles were also “fired into international shipping lanes in the Southern Red Sea from Houthi controlled areas of Yemen,” it said. “No ships reported being impacted by the ballistic missiles.”
The UK Maritime Trade Operations agency earlier reported that an uncrewed aerial system had exploded near a vessel in the Bab Al-Mandab Strait, 45 nautical miles southwest of Saleef, Yemen.
The United States launched Operation Prosperity Guardian three days ago, saying more than a dozen countries had agreed to participate in an effort that will involve joint patrols in Red Sea waters near Yemen.The Sanaa-based group has obstructed their passage through the strait.
“The motor vessel CHEM PLUTO, a Liberia-flagged, Japanese-owned, and Netherlands-operated chemical tanker was struck at approximately 10 a.m. local time (6 a.m. GMT) today in the Indian Ocean, 200 nautical miles from the coast of India, by a one-way attack drone fired from Iran,” a Pentagon spokesperson told Reuters.
The incident highlights escalating regional tensions and new risk to shipping lanes after the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel.
The Iranian government, as well as its allied militant forces in Yemen, have publicly criticised the Israeli government’s military operation in Gaza. Thousands of Palestinian citizens have been killed in the ongoing conflict, according to aid monitors.
The Pentagon statement said this was the “seventh Iranian attack on commercial shipping since 2021.” There were no casualties as a result of the attack and a brief fire on board the tanker was extinguished. The incident took place only 200 nautical miles from the coast of India.
A spokesperson for the Iranian delegation at the United Nations did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
