Explosions occurred in the Red Sea off the coast of Yemen on Tuesday, amid reports that a number of missiles and drones had been monitored, a week after Washington announced the formation of a multinational naval force to stop attacks by the Ansar Allah group (Houthis).
A Yemeni shipping source told Tel Aviv Tribune that the Houthis targeted the MCC ship in the Red Sea to prevent it from heading to Israel, while he announced The Houthis said that the military spokesman for their forces would make an “important” statement within hours.
The group targets ships linked to Israel, or those heading to Israeli ports in solidarity with the Palestinians in Gaza since the outbreak of war. The war on October 7th the past.
For its part, the British Maritime Trade Operations Authority said in a memo that two drones were spotted before two explosions occurred at a distance of 5 nautical miles from a ship sailing about 50 nautical miles west of Hodeidah on the coast of Yemen.
The authority added that in an apparent separate incident, explosions were heard and missiles were seen at a distance of 4 nautical miles from a ship that was 60 nautical miles from Hodeidah.
camera #Tel Aviv Tribune The US destroyer Mason is spotted docking in a port #Djibouti To refuel#News pic.twitter.com/SenSo4MNwC
– Tel Aviv Tribune Channel (@AJArabic) December 26, 2023
It was not immediately clear whether the two incidents were related to the same ship, which the authority did not identify, nor did it reveal its destination or cargo. In both incidents, the ship and crew were reported to be safe.
This comes a week after the United States announced a multinational maritime security initiative in the Red Sea to stop Houthi attacks on ships, dubbed the “Prosperity Alliance.”
Tel Aviv Tribune’s camera monitored the American destroyer Maysoon docking in one of Djibouti’s ports to refuel.
The Houthis warned shipping companies against dealing with Israeli ports, and pledged to continue their attacks until Israel stops the war. They also threatened to attack American warships if they were subjected to any attack.
International shipping companies suspended their operations through the Red Sea due to the attacks, and diverted their ships to the Cape of Good Hope route, and several reports indicated that work in the Israeli port of Eilat was almost completely disrupted.