Crew deserts ship as Houthis claim to launch another missile assault off Yemen

The workers on a commercial ship in the Gulf of Aden left the ship after it was attacked by the rebel group called the Houthi movement from Yemen.

A spokesperson for the Houthi military said that the ship Rubymar could sink because it was hit by missiles.

The UK Maritime Trade Operations agency reported that a ship was left empty near Yemen after it was damaged by an explosion.

Lloyd’s List Intelligence said that the ship Rubymar was attacked by two missiles.

The Houthis, who are supported by Iran, have been attacking ships in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden with missiles and drones since mid-November. They say they are doing this to support the Palestinians in the fight between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.

The attacks made many shipping companies stop using the important waterway, which is responsible for about 12% of global sea trade.

The US and British military started bombing areas in western Yemen that are controlled by the Houthi rebel group. This was done in retaliation for previous attacks.

On Sunday night, UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) got a report from a ship about an incident that happened about 35 nautical miles (65km) south of the Yemeni Red Sea port of Mocha.

The owner said there was an explosion near the boat that caused damage at around 11:00 pm local time.

On Monday, the agency said that the military reported the crew left the ship after it was attacked.

“The boat is parked and all the crew are okay,” it said. “The military is still there to help. ”

A company called Ambrey said that a cargo ship from Belize, registered in Britain and operated by Lebanon, was attacked in the Bab al-Mandab Strait while sailing northwards on Sunday.

“The ship slowed down from 10 to six knots for a short time, changed direction, and called the Djiboutian Navy. Then it went back to its original speed and course,” the report stated.

Ambrey also said that the ship’s crew had been taken off by another merchant ship, and this matches with the actions of a Singaporean-flagged container ship.

Lloyd’s List Intelligence, which provides information about ships, said that the Rubymar was hit by two missiles and got badly damaged.

According to MarineTraffic, the Rubymar ship was traveling from Saudi Arabia to Bulgaria before the tracking signal was last received on Sunday.

Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Sarea said on Monday morning that their naval forces shot missiles at a British ship called Rubymar in the Gulf of Aden.

The ship was badly damaged and completely stopped, but he didn’t show any proof.

“Because the ship was badly damaged, it might sink in the Gulf of Aden. ” “We made sure the ship’s crew got off the ship safely during the operation. ”

The Rubymar boat is from Belize and is owned by Golden Adventure Shipping, which is located in Southampton, England.

Ambrey knew that a cargo ship from Greece, owned by the US, asked for help from the military after a missile attack about 100 miles east of the southern port of Aden in Yemen.

UKMTO said there was an attack in the same place. The boss said there was an explosion near a ship, but the ship and crew are safe.

Mr Sarea also said Houthi air defenses in the Red Sea province of Hudaydah had shot down a US MQ-9 Reaper drone “while it was attacking our country on behalf of Israel”.

The US military did not make a comment right away.

The US Central Command attacked and destroyed five enemy weapons in Yemen on Saturday to protect U. S ships and merchant boats in the area.

This was the first time that US forces found a submarine drone being used by the Houthis since the attacks started.