DUBAI: Two ships were damaged in separate attacks off Yemen on Tuesday, a British maritime agency said, as regional tensions soared during Israel’s offensive on Lebanon. Both vessels reported that their crews were safe.

One ship was hit by a sea drone, puncturing a ballast tank, and a second vessel was damaged by a missile less than three hours later, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said.

In the first attack, a port-side ballast tank, used to adjust buoyancy, was holed by an “uncrewed surface vessel”, UKMTO, which is run by Britain’s Royal Navy, said in a statement.

The same ship, sailing 64 nautical miles northwest of Hodeida, had come under threat earlier on Tuesday, UKMTO said. The vessel had earlier reported seeing four splashes in the water close to it, which a maritime security source said were attempted missile attacks.

The second vessel, which sources said was a Liberia-flagged bulker, sustained damage after it was hit by a missile about 97 nautical miles northwest of Hodeidah, Ambrey and maritime security sources said. The firm said it was bound for Suez.

Yemen’s Houthi later claimed the attack on the Cordelia Moon, saying that it was struck with eight ballistic and winged missiles, a drone and an uncrewed surface boat.

They also said they had targeted a third ship, Marathopolis, in the Indian Ocean with a drone and with a winged missile.

Months of Houthi drone and missile attacks have disrupted maritime traffic in the Red Sea and triggered reprisal strikes by the United States and Britain against Houthi targets in Yemen.

Houthis have targeted ships in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden since November in what they describe as support for Palestinians during the Israel-Hamas conflict.

Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree on Tuesday pledged “practical support for the Palestinian and Lebanese peoples until the (Israeli) aggression is defeated and its criminal plans and expansionist conspiracies are thwarted”.

On Sunday, Israeli air strikes hit Hodeida after the Houthis said they fired a missile at Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv.

Published in Dawn, October 2nd, 2024