Crew abandons ship attacked in the Red Sea, UK military says

DUBAI United Arab Emirates AP Crew members abroad a ship set ablaze by a series of attacks in the Red Sea abandoned the vessel Sunday night as it took on water marking the first serious assault in the vital corridor for deal after a monthslong campaign by Yemen s Houthi rebels there Suspicion for the attack at once fell on the Houthis particularly as a protection firm declared it appeared bomb-carrying drone boats hit the ship after it was targeted by small arms and rocket-propelled grenades The rebels media broadcasted on the attack but did not claim it It can take them hours or even days before they acknowledge an assault A renewed Houthi campaign against shipping could again draw in U S and Western forces to the area particularly after President Donald Trump targeted the rebels in a major airstrike campaign Attack comes at a delicate time And it comes at a sensitive moment in the Middle East as a feasible ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war hangs in the balance and as Iran weighs whether to restart negotiations over its nuclear venture following American airstrikes targeting its most-sensitive atomic sites amid an Israeli war against the Islamic Republic It likely serves as a message that the Houthis continue to possess the capability and willingness to strike at strategic maritime targets regardless of diplomatic developments wrote Mohammad al-Basha a Yemen analyst at the Basha Account liability advisory firm The British military s United Kingdom Maritime Arrangement Operations center first announced that an armed protection gang on the unidentified vessel had returned fire against an initial attack and that the situation is ongoing It described the attack as happening certain kilometers miles southwest of Hodeida Yemen which is held by the country s Houthi rebels Bureaucrats are studying it mentioned It later commented the ship was on fire after being struck by unknown projectiles Possibly a major escalation Ambrey a private maritime prevention firm issued an alert saying that a merchant ship had been attacked by eight skiffs while transiting northbound in the Red Sea Ambrey later stated the ship also had been attacked by bomb-carrying drone boats which could mark a major escalation It disclosed two drone boats struck the ship while another two had been destroyed by the armed guards on board The United Kingdom Maritime Deal Operations center reported the ship was taking on water and its crew had abandoned the vessel The U S Navy s Mideast-based th Fleet referred questions to the military s Central Command which stated it was aware of the circumstance without elaborating Agents did not identify the vessel for hours However the description of the vessel targeted matched against the Liberian-flagged bulk tanker Magic Seas which had been broadcasting it had an armed measure association on board in the vicinity the attack took place and had been heading north EOS Peril Group another maritime precaution firm identified the targeted vessel as being a Liberian-flagged ship as well The Magic Seas owners did not respond to a request for comment Houthi attacks came over Israel-Hamas war The Houthi rebels have been launching missile and drone attacks against commercial and military ships in the region in what the group s leadership has described as an effort to end Israel s offensive against Hamas in the Gaza Strip The group s al-Masirah satellite news channel acknowledged the attack occurred but offered no other comment on it as it aired a speech by its secretive leader Abdul Malik al-Houthi However Ambrey explained the vessel targeted met the established Houthi target profile without elaborating Between November and January the Houthis targeted more than merchant vessels with missiles and drones sinking two of them and killing four sailors That has greatly reduced the flow of commerce through the Red Sea corridor which typically sees trillion of goods move through it annually The Houthis paused attacks in a self-imposed ceasefire until the U S launched a broad assault against the rebels in mid-March That ended weeks later and the Houthis haven t attacked a vessel though they have continued occasional missile attacks targeting Israel On Sunday the group claimed launching a missile at Israel which the Israeli military reported it intercepted Shipping through the Red Sea while still lower than normal has increased in newest weeks Meanwhile a wider decadelong war in Yemen between the Houthis and the country s exiled regime backed by a Saudi-led coalition remains in a stalemate The Yemeni Coast Guard which is loyal to the exiled administration has engaged in a firefight with at least one vessel in the Red Sea in the past as well Pirates from Somalia also have operated in the region though typically they ve sought to capture vessels either to rob or ransom their crews But neither the Yemeni Coast Guard nor the pirates have been known to use drone boats in their attacks Source