Houthis strike two ships in Red Sea and Gulf of Aden

After six months of US and British operations against the Houthis, attacks in the Red Sea continue

An F/A-18E Super Hornet fighter prepares to take off from the USS Dwight D Eisenhower aircraft carrier in Southern Red Sea. It is now being replaced by its sister ship, the USS Theodore Roosevelt. ReutersShow less

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A commercial ship was hit by a Houthi drone on Sunday, while another was severely damaged and flooding, two maritime security monitors said, the latest of about 30 civilian vessels damaged and two sunk by the group, as part of their blockade of the Red Sea.

The Houthis claim to be supporting Hamas in Gaza and have blockaded the waterway since mid-November, that carries around 12 per cent of global maritime trade.

They say the action will continue until Israel ends its war on Gaza.

Private security firm Ambrey identified the ship involved in the drone incident as a Liberia-flagged container ship bound for Qingdao, China, while the UK Maritime Trade Organisation confirmed the hit.

The ship suffered only minor damage and continued its journey, UKMTO said, but later on Sunday, the organisation reported another vessel had been abandoned in the Gulf of Aden after being damaged in an attack and suffering "uncontrolled flooding."

The crew had been rescued by another vessel, UKMTO said, without giving further details.

So far, the Houthis have sunk two ships, the fertiliser carrier MV Rubymar, which was en route to Morocco, and the coal carrier MV Tutor, which was sunk with a cargo of coal from Russia. Four sailors have been killed in the campaign.

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The latest attack comes as the US sends another aircraft carrier to the Red Sea to assist in air operations, alongside the UK, which are hitting Houthi missile and drone launching sites.

A number of allied countries are providing non-lethal support to the mission, known as Operation Prosperity Guardian, including Australia and Bahrain.

A separate EU mission, Operation Aspides, has focused on shooting down missiles and drones to protect civilian ships.

On Sunday, the carrier the USS Dwight D Eisenhower completed its mission to the Red Sea, reaching the Mediterranean, to be replaced by the USS Theodore Roosevelt.

The inbound carrier, on its way from the Pacific, can carry 90 planes and helicopters.

Earlier the Houthis said its forces had attacked the Eisenhower in the Red Sea and the operation had achieved its objectives successfully, without elaborating. The group also said it attacked a commercial ship, Transworld Navigator, in the Arabian Sea. It did not say when the attacks took place.

The US said reports that the carrier, which has its own air defences, as well as an escort of up to five other warships, had not been struck.

US "Super Carriers," like the Eisenhower are heavily protected by the other ships in the Carrier Group, which carry anti-aircraft missiles and electronic warfare systems to jam enemy drone and missile sensors. The US operates 11 Super Carrier groups.

"The (Eisenhower carrier strike group) protected ships transiting the Red Sea, Bab-el-Mandeb and the Gulf of Aden, rescued innocent mariners against the unlawful attacks from the Iranian-backed Houthis and helped to deter further aggression," the Pentagon said in a statement.

The announcement by US Central Command (Centcom) the US military headquarters in the Middle East, came amid a wave of Houthi missile and explosive drone boat attacks.

“In the past 24 hours, US Central Command forces successfully destroyed three Iranian-backed Houthi uncrewed surface vessels (USV) in the Red Sea,” the organisation said on X.

Centcom also said the Houthis had fired anti-ship ballistic missiles, which can be considerably more destructive than drones, but that no damage or casualties had been reported.