Yemen’s Houthi rebels have claimed the attack on a Dutch-flagged cargo ship in the Gulf of Aden that left it ablaze and adrift.
Monday’s attack on the ‘Minervagracht’ was the most serious assault by the Iranian-backed Houthis in the Gulf of Aden, which is only some distance from the Red Sea where they have sunk four vessels since November 2023.
The rebel group’s claims on Wednesday also highlighted its range of weaponry and campaign to target shipping over the Israel-Hamas war.
The attack wounded two mariners on board the ship which had a 19-member crew that was forced to evacuate. The crew hailed from the Philippines, Russia, Sri Lanka and Ukraine.
Houthi military spokesman Brig. Gen. Yahya Saree confirmed the Houthis fired a cruise missile that targeted and struck the Minervagracht. He accused the ship’s owners, the Amsterdam-based Spliethoff, of violating the “entry ban to the ports of occupied Palestie”.
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While the US Navy-overseen Joint Maritime Information Center had initially said the ship had no ties to Israel, it later said in a note on Tuesday that it was “reviewing vessel affiliations for possible links to Israel.”
The attack also comes as Israel engages in a new ground offensive targeting Gaza City while efforts by the US are on to reach a ceasefire, though the White House released a Gaza peace plan on Monday. Meanwhile, the middle east also remains on edge after the United Nations re-imposed sanctions on Iran over its nuclear program.
The Houthis have launched missile and drone attacks on over 100 ships and on Israel since the war started in Gaza, saying they were acting in solidarity with the Palestinians. However, some of the group's targets have had tenuous links or no connections at all to Israel.
Of late, however, the group has widened its area of assault, with the last recorded attack being on a commercial vessel in the Gulf of Aden in August 2024, before the Minervagracht attack.
The Houthi influence over the area has upended shipping in the Red Sea, through which about USD 1 trillion of goods passed each year before the war. While attack on ships halted for a brief while with a ceasefire announced, they later became intense.
The Houthis were also targeted by US President Donald Trump-ordered airstrikes.
So far, the Houthi campaign against shipping has killed at least eight mariners and seen four ships sunk.
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