On July 10, 2024, Yemen’s Houthi rebels claimed that they had attacked the Maersk Sentosa, an American-flagged container ship in the Arabian Sea with ballistic and wing missiles.

Yahya Saree, the group’s military spokesperson, made this statement during a televised speech.

The shipping company Maersk confirmed that their vessel, the Maersk Sentosa, encountered a flying object north of the Gulf of Aden.

Despite the attack, there were no reported crew casualties or damage to the ship or cargo.

Maersk’s spokesperson stated that the ship operated by Maersk Line is continuing its voyage as planned.

The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) also received reports of an explosion near a merchant vessel approximately 180 nautical miles east of Yemen’s Nishtun.

An advisory note was issued to confirm the ship’s and crew’s safety.

In addition to the Maersk Sentosa, Saree claimed that the Houthis used drones to target two more ships, the Marathopolis in the Arabian Sea and the MSC Patnaree in the Gulf of Aden.

Since November, the Houthis have launched a series of strikes on shipping routes in the Bab-al-Mandab Strait, the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea, citing their support for Palestinians in Gaza.

The incident involving Maersk Sentosa is the UKMTO’s first reported attack on a merchant ship since June 28, 2024.

The US and European naval forces have recently noticed an upsurge in unmanned aerial and surface vehicle activities in the region.

The attack occurred far away from the usual Houthi threat zone area near the Bab al-Mandab strait, where the majority of their prior attacks have taken place.

On June 24, 2024, the Liberian-flagged MSC Sarah V was attacked with a missile in the Arabian Sea, which the Houthis later claimed was the first deployment of a domestically built hypersonic missile.

Since mid-November, the Iran-backed Houthis have launched more than 80 attacks on merchant ships from their bases in Yemen.

Reference: Reuters