Drone Boat Hits Merchant Ship in Red Sea, Puncturing Ballast Tank

Yemen's Houthi rebels appear to have hit another merchant vessel in a multi-domain, multiple-attempt attack, according to the Royal Navy's UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO). 

At about 0140 hours GMT, UKMTO received a security report from an unnamed vessel about 60 nautical miles off the coast of Hodeidah. The captain reported that there were four splashes observed in the water near the ship, but the vessel was undamaged and the crew were safe. The ship continued onwards toward its next port of call. 

At 0500 GMT, the master reached out to UKMTO again to report that the vessel had been hit by a suicide drone boat. The No. 6 ballast tank was punctured on the port side, but no crewmembers were injured, and the vessel remained fully operational. It is currently under way to its next port of call. 

With support from Iran, the Houthi movement has targeted international shipping in the Red Sea since last October. Despite a U.S.-led campaign to defend marine traffic in the Red Sea, the Houthis have damaged dozens of ships and sunk two, killing four foreign seafarers. The group claims that it is targeting vessels with an Israeli connection - whether by ownership or by trading patterns - in order to protest the ongoing operation in Gaza.

Separately, Houthi spokesman Yahya Saree claimed that the militia had shot down an American MQ-9 Reaper drone, adding to a long list of claimed interceptions over Yemen. The MQ-9 is a mainstay for counterterrorism operations in the Mideast, and Saree asserted that the group has now taken down 11 of the unmanned aircraft. 

Houthi leaders had a setback over the weekend when an Israeli airstrike destroyed the fuel tank farms at Ras Isa and Hodeidah, along with a power station located near the waterfront. The toll has risen to five people dead and 57 wounded, said Saree.