(Dubai) Two merchant ships were hit by attacks off the coast of Yemen on Monday, without causing any casualties, the British Maritime Safety Agency (UKMTO) said.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attacks, but the area has been the scene of missile and drone strikes by Yemeni Houthi rebels for months.
Two projectiles hit a ship 70 nautical miles (about 112 km) from the Houthi-controlled Yemeni city of Hodeidah, causing no casualties, UKMTO reported.
“Damage assessment is ongoing,” the agency said, adding that the “ship was heading to its next port of call.”
The Joint Maritime Information Center (JMIC), run by a multinational naval coalition including the United States and European countries and based in Bahrain, said it was the Blue Lagoon I, a Panamanian-flagged oil tanker.
It was targeted by three ballistic missiles, one of which crashed into the sea, 50 meters from the ship.
The vessel “suffered minimal damage but did not require assistance,” JMIC said, adding that it had been targeted because of its affiliation with “other vessels […] having recently served ports in Israel.”
UKMTO also reported a drone attack targeting a second vessel, 58 nautical miles (around 93 km) from Hodeida, without causing any casualties.
According to British maritime security company Ambrey, the ship “did not fit the profile of the Houthis’ declared targets.”
The pro-Iranian rebels, who control the city of Hodeida and large swathes of Yemeni territory, are targeting ships they believe are linked to Israel, saying they are acting in solidarity with Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, where a war has been waged between the Islamist movement Hamas and Israel since October 7.
On that day, Hamas carried out an attack of unprecedented scale in Israel, which in retaliation triggered an offensive against Hamas.
Attacks by Houthi rebels have disrupted traffic in this maritime zone vital to global trade, prompting the United States to establish an international maritime coalition and strike rebel targets in Yemen, sometimes with help from the United Kingdom.