The US military said on Sunday that it shot down two anti-ship ballistic missiles fired towards a container ship by Yemen’s Houthi rebels in the Red Sea.
Hours later, four boats tried to attack the same ship, but US forces opened fire, killing several of the armed crews, the US Central Command (Centcom) said. No one was injured on the ship.
The Singapore-flagged Maersk Hangzhou reported that it had already been hit by a missile on Saturday night while transiting the Southern Red Sea and requested assistance, Centcom said in a statement.
The USS Gravely and USS Laboon responded to the call for help, and the Denmark-owned vessel was reportedly seaworthy and no injuries were noted, the statement added.
“This is the 23rd illegal attack by the Houthis on international shipping since November 19th,” Centcom said.
In another statement, Centcom said the same ship issued an additional distress call about a second attack “by four Iranian-backed Houthi small boats”.
The attackers fired small arms weapons at the Maersk Hangzhou, getting to within about 65ft of the vessel, Centcom said.
A contract-embarked security team on the ship returned fire, the central command said.
US helicopters from the USS Dwight D Eisenhower aircraft carrier and Gravely responded to the distress call and, while issuing verbal warnings to the attackers, the small boat crews opened fire on the helicopters using small arms, the statement said.
“The US navy helicopters returned fire in self-defence,” sinking three of the four boats, killing the crews, while the fourth boat fled the area, Cencom said, and no damage to US personnel or equipment was reported.
The Denmark-based shipping giant Maersk, owner of Maersk Hangzhou, said on Sunday it would suspend shipping through the Red Sea again after the two attacks on its freighter.
“In light of the [most recent] incident – and to give time to investigate the details of the incident and assess the security situation further – it has been decided that all transits through the area will be postponed for the next 48 hours,” Maersk said, according to Danish public broadcaster DR.
The Iran-backed Houthis have claimed attacks on ships in the Red Sea that they say are either linked to Israel or heading to Israeli ports.
They say their attacks aim to end Israel’s air and ground offensive targeting the Gaza Strip following the attack by the Palestinian militant group Hamas on October 7th.
[ Escalating Houthi attacks making Red Sea a no-go area for shippingOpens in new window ]
On Saturday, the top commander of US naval forces in the Middle East said Houthi rebels have shown no signs of ending their “reckless” attacks on commercial ships in the Red Sea even as more nations join the international maritime mission to protect vessels in the vital waterway and trade traffic begins to pick up.
Since the Pentagon announced Operation Prosperity Guardian to counter the attacks just more than 10 days ago, 1,200 merchant ships have travelled through the Red Sea region, and none have been hit by drone or missile strikes, vice admiral Brad Cooper said. – AP
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