The Houthi militant group occupying much of the the more populated section of Yemen are continuing their attacks on merchant shipping moving in the areas of the lower Red Sea, Gulf of Aden and Arabian Sea.
In addition, the Houthis last week claimed to have attacked several ships in the eastern Mediterranean Sea and including the port of Haifa. There has been no confirmation of the latter.
On Friday 7 June, according to a Houthi televised statement, two vessels, the Maltese-flagged Elbella (IMO 9312640) and the Cyprus-flagged AAL Genoa (IMO 9393553) were reportedly attacked with drones and ballistic and naval missiles.
The spokesman did not disclose when these attacks took place but did say the two ships were in the Red Sea at the time.
In its statement on X (Twitter), the US CENTCOM said on Friday (7 June 2024) that within the previous 24 hours, “Iranian-backed Houthis launched four anti-ship ballistic missiles (ASBM) from Houthi controlled areas of Yemen over the Red Sea. There were no injuries or damage reported by US, coalition, or commercial ships.”
US forces also destroyed one drone launched into the Bab al-Mandab Strait.
The report added that US Centcom forces destroyed four UASs (unmanned aircraft system or drones) and two ASBMs in Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen, in addition to destroying a Houthi patrol boat in the Red Sea.
In a press statement dated Thursday 6 June, CENTCOM said it had destroyed eight UASs and two uncrewed surface vessels (USVs) in the Red Sea.
On Wednesday (5 June) the Houthis targeted two Greek-owned merchant ships, a Liberian-flagged bulk carrier of 93,386-dwt named Roza (IMO 9197909) and the 29,084-dwt bulker named Vantage Dream (IMO 9616606), both headed towards the Suez Canal from Indian ports.
A third ship that was targeted by drones was the US-flagged container ship Maersk Skeletar (IMO 9315197) that sailed from the port of Salalah two days earlier.
The container ship was headed for the Omani port of Duqm and ironically, had sailed around South Africa to avoid having the cross the Red Sea.
It appears the Roza and Vantage Dream were in the Red Sea and Maersk Skeletar was in the Arabian Sea when the attempts were made.
None of the three ships were struck by either missile or drone.
Written by Africa Ports & Ships and republished with permission. The original article can be found here.
