British-owned cargo vessel attacked by Houthis in Red Sea
On Monday, Defence Secretary Grant Shapps told the Commons the UK would not hesitate to respond again "in self-defence" to Houthi attacks in Yemen.
Tuesday 6 February 2024 13:32, UK
A British-owned cargo vessel has been attacked in the Red Sea, the UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said.
The ship was attacked west of Hodeida in Yemen just after midnight on Tuesday.
Yemen's Iranian-backed Houthis claimed responsibility for the attack.
The UKMTO said the ship's master was "aware of a small craft on his Port side" before a projectile was fired at the ship.
No crew were injured and the vessel sustained small damages to its bridge windows.
The vessel was deemed safe to continue its journey.
Maritime security firm Ambrey identified the vessel as a Barbados-flagged general cargo ship owned by a British company, saying it incurred physical damage from an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) while sailing southeast through the Red Sea.
A military spokesman for the Houthis, Brigadier General Yahya Saree, claimed their forces had fired missiles at two separate vessels, one American and one British.
One of the ships the Houthis claimed to have attacked, the Morning Tide, matched the details provided by Ambrey.
The other, the Greek-owned Star Nasia, was damaged by an explosion, a Greek shipping ministry official said, adding its crew were not injured.
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On Monday, Defence Secretary Grant Shapps told the Commons the UK would not hesitate to respond again "in self-defence" to Houthi attacks in Yemen.
He was updating MPs after the UK and the US took part in joint airstrikes against Houthi sites on Saturday.
Mr Shapps said the attacks were in line with international law and in self-defence and had targeted "three military facilities" hitting "11 separate targets" identified following "very careful analysis".
Attacks in the Red Sea have disrupted global shipping, forcing firms to reroute to longer and more expensive journeys around southern Africa - while stoking fears the Israel-Hamas war could spread and destabilise the wider Middle East.