Yemen's Houthi rebels launched an attack on a United States-flagged container ship in the Gulf of Aden on Tuesday, marking the latest incident in their ongoing assault on the vital maritime trade route. The ship, identified as the Maersk Sentosa, reported an explosion near its location off the coast of Nishtun, Yemen, close to the country's border with Oman.
The Joint Maritime Information Center, overseen by the U.S. Navy, confirmed the attack, which occurred in an area previously targeted by the rebels. While the cause of the explosion was not specified, the Houthis are known to employ drones, missiles, and bomb-carrying drone boats in their attacks.
The Houthis claimed responsibility for three attacks, including the one on the Maersk Sentosa. Maersk, the world's largest shipping company, has yet to comment on the incident. Following this assault, no further attacks have been reported in the region.
Since November, the rebels have targeted over 70 vessels using missiles and drones, resulting in the deaths of four sailors. They have also seized one vessel and sunk two others. The frequency of Houthi attacks on merchant ships spiked in June, with the rebels justifying their actions as targeting vessels associated with Israel, the United States, or Britain in support of Hamas.
In a separate development, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights expressed concern over the detention of 13 U.N. staff and aid workers by the Houthi rebels, urging for their immediate release. The detained individuals, including six from the U.N.'s human rights agency, have been held for over a month without access to U.N. officials.
On the same day, the U.S. Central Command announced the destruction of an uncrewed Houthi aerial vehicle in a Houthi-controlled area of Yemen, underscoring the ongoing tensions in the region.
