British-affiliated tanker Marlin Luanda attacked by Houthis in Gulf of Aden

A big ship from the UK was on fire for a long time in the Gulf of Aden. It was hit by a missile from the Houthis.

The group from Yemen, supported by Iran, said they attacked the Marlin Luanda on Friday because of “American-British aggression”.

The US and UK are bombing Houthi targets because they attacked ships in the Red Sea.

Ships from France, India, and the United States helped the boat.

UK Defense Secretary Grant Shapps said the attack was very bad and against the law.

“We must make sure that ships can travel freely in the Red Sea, and we promise to keep working towards that goal,” he said on X.

The company that runs the Marlin Luanda ship is called Oceonix Services Ltd. They are based in the UK.

The big ship is from the Marshall Islands and is used by Trafigura, a big company that trades around the world.

On Saturday, Trafigura said everyone on the ship was okay and they had put out the fire in one of the cargo tanks. The ship is headed to a safe place to dock, the company announced.

The US Central Command (Centcom) said that the tanker, which had 22 Indian and 1 Bangladeshi crew members, did not have any injuries or deaths.

The Houthis recently attacked commercial ships in and around the Red Sea. The group is attacking ships in the area to help the Palestinians in Gaza who are fighting against Israel.

A Houthi spokesperson said they targeted the Marlin Luanda because they believed it was a British ship, in response to what they see as American-British aggression against their country.

The UK government said it is not okay to attack commercial ships. They also said that Britain and its allies have the right to retaliate if needed.

The US Central Command said that these illegal actions are not connected to the fighting in Gaza.

“The boat and its crew are not connected to Israel in any way. ” The Houthis have shot into the Red Sea without aiming at specific targets, which has affected more than 40 countries, according to Centcom.

The UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said the incident happened 60 nautical miles to the southeast of Aden.

It told other boats to be careful and tell authorities if they saw anything suspicious.

Later, Centcom announced that they attacked a Houthi anti-ship missile that was ready to be launched into the Red Sea at 03:45 local time on Saturday. Centcom said they destroyed the missile to protect themselves.

Since November, the Houthis have attacked many ships in the Red Sea, which is a very busy shipping route.