Aden: Yemen’s Houthi militants said on Saturday that they attacked a Liberia-flagged container vessel for a second time in the latest action against commercial shipping in the Gulf of Aden.

Yemeni military spokesperson Yahya Saree’s televised statement did not specify when the latest attack on the MV Groton took place.

The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations said in an advisory note that two missiles exploded on Friday in close proximity to the vessel, 130 nautical miles east of Yemen’s Aden. It said the crew was safe. There was no mention of damage to the vessel.

“The operation was carried out by the naval, UAV, and the missile forces ... This is the second targeting of the ship since it was previously targeted on Aug. 3,” Saree said.

Houthi militants have sunk two vessels during a nine-month drone and missile campaign against commercial shipping in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden.

They say their attacks are in solidarity with Palestinians in the conflict between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip and likely will continue if a ceasefire is not reached.

In one of their most recent attacks, the Houthis carried out multiple assaults against Greek-flagged oil tanker Sounion, which is carrying about 1 million barrels of oil.

Published in Dawn, September 1st, 2024