Houthis fire missiles at ships in the Red Sea, one sustains minor damage (updated)

Star Bulk Carriers

06/02/2024 04:28

(Adds details on Greek-owned vessel, paragraphs 4-5)
       Feb 6 (Reuters) - Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis fired
missiles at two vessels in the Red Sea, they said on Tuesday,
causing minor damage to a cargo ship that was sailing off the
coast of Yemen's Hodeidah.
    The Houthis have been targeting commercial vessels with
drones and missiles in the Red Sea since mid-November, in what
they describe as acts of solidarity with Palestinians against
Israel in the Gaza war.
    The group's military spokesman said it fired naval missiles
at the Morning Tide and Star Nasia, identifying the Barbados-
and Marshall Islands-flagged ships, respectively, as British and
American.
        The Greek-owned Star Nasia, managed by Star Bulk
Carrier,  was damaged by an explosion at 1115 GMT, a Greek
shipping ministry official said, adding that its crew were not
injured. 
  
        It is unclear whether the explosion was caused by a sea
mine or a rocket, the official added. 
  
        British maritime security firm Ambrey said a
Barbados-flagged, general cargo ship owned by a British company
suffered damage from an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) while
sailing south east through the Red Sea. 
    No injuries were reported. The ship performed evasive
manoeuvres and continued its journey, Ambrey said.
    The owner of the Morning Tide, British firm Furadino
Shipping, told Reuters the ship was currently sailing without
problems, but gave no further information.
        LSEG ship-tracking data showed the Morning Tide was
sailing down through the Red Sea having come through the Suez
Canal on Friday. Its most recent signal shows it sailing out of
the Red Sea through the Bab al-Mandab Strait.
  
    
    PROJECTILE
    The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) agency
had reported just after midnight GMT on Tuesday that a
projectile had been fired at the port side of a ship located 57
nautical miles west of Hodeidah and that a small craft was seen
nearby. 
    The projectile passed over the deck and caused slight damage
to the bridge windows, but the vessel and crew were safe and
proceeded on the planned passage, UKMTO added. 
        The Red Sea attacks have disrupted global shipping and
forced firms to re-route to longer and more expensive journeys
around southern Africa and stoked fears that the Israel-Hamas
war could spread to destabilise the wider Middle East.
  
        The United States and Britain began striking Houthi
targets in Yemen last month in retaliation for the attacks on
Red Sea shipping. 
  
    

 (Reporting by Yomna Ehab in Cairo, Nayera Abdallah and Tala
Ramadan in Dubai, Renee Maltezou in Athens,  Writing by Lisa
Barrington in Seoul; Editing by Michael Perry, Nick Macfie and
Gareth Jones)
 ((yomna.ehab@thomsonreuters.com;))