Houthi missile strike on cargo ship severely injures sailor

Attack on the MV Verbena comes after Yemeni rebels sent bomb-laden boat crashing into commercial vessel

Houthi rebels have launched dozens of attacks on commercial shipping in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden since November. Photo: Eduard Marmet

A sailor was severely wounded after a cargo ship in the Gulf of Aden was hit by two cruise missiles fired by Yemen's Houthi rebels on Thursday.

The MV Verbena, a Palauan-flagged, Ukrainian-owned, Polish-operated cargo ship reported that it had been damaged, with the crew fighting fires on board.

The vessel was en route to Italy carrying wood used in construction, the US Central Command said.

Aircraft from USS Philippine Sea missile cruiser evacuated the injured sailor to another ship for treatment, it said.

“This continued reckless behaviour by the Iranian-backed Houthis threatens regional stability and endangers the lives of mariners across the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden,” the Central Command said.

The attack on the MV Verbena comes after the Houthis crashed a bomb-laden boat into a commercial ship in the Red Sea on Wednesday.

The Houthis, who seized Yemen’s capital about a decade ago, have been attacking commercial shipping throughout the Red Sea.

They say the attacks are aimed at stopping Israel's war in Gaza and supporting Palestinians, although they strike vessels that have nothing to do with the conflict.

A ship in the Suez Canal heading towards the Red Sea in Ismailia, Egypt. Houthi rebels in Yemen have pledged to disrupt all shipping destined for Israel through the Red Sea and the Suez Canal. Getty Images

Sailors on the USS Mason during Operation Prosperity Guardian. Photo: US Navy

A ship travelling south through the Suez Canal. Getty Images

The officer of the watch on the bridge of HMS Diamond in the Red Sea. Reuters

A container ship in the Suez Canal near Ismailia, Egypt. Getty Images

A televised statement by the Houthis' military spokesman Yahya Sarea in Sanaa, Yemen, after a large-scale missile and drone attack by the group against shipping lanes in the Red Sea. EPA

A ship in the Suez Canal heading towards the Red Sea. Getty Images

On the bridge of HMS Diamond as Sea Viper missiles are fired in the Red Sea to combat a barrage of Houthi drones and missiles. Photo: Ministry of Defence via AP

The UK Maritime Trade Operations agency said on Thursday that a vessel had been attacked and had caught fire.

Private security company Ambrey said a merchant vessel made a radio distress call saying it had been struck by a missile.

The Houthis later claimed the attack on the MV Verbena, as well as attacks on two other ships in the Red Sea.

Centcom said the Houthis had launched two ballistic missiles in the Red Sea that caused “no injuries or significant damage”.

Meanwhile, the UK Maritime Trade Operations agency reported an explosion close to a merchant vessel in the Red Sea, about 80 nautical miles north-west of Yemen's rebel-held Hodeida port, but said there was no damage or casualties.

Centcom also said it destroyed an unmanned Houthi boat and two patrol vessels in the Red Sea, as well as one drone.

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The war in Gaza has killed more than 36,000 Palestinians, according to health officials in the enclave, while hundreds of others have been killed in Israeli operations in the occupied West Bank.

It began after Hamas militants attacked Israel on October 7, killing about 1,200 people and taking about 250 hostage.

The Houthis have launched more than 50 attacks on shipping that have killed three sailors. They have also seized one vessel and sunk another since November, according to the US Maritime Administration.

A US-led campaign has conducted air strikes against the Houthis since January, with a series of attacks on May 30 killing at least 16 people and wounding 42 others, the rebels said.