Ship attacked in western Yemen by Houthis rebels

A cruise ship carrying foreigners was attacked by Iranian-backed Houthi militias on Thursday, off Hodeida governorate, western Yemen.

An official source at the Yemeni Coast Guard Command said: An attack by three armed boats near the theater of operations of the Houthi militia, targeting a tourist ship (yacht), was on its way from Djibouti to Panama.

The source said that the ship that was attacked off the southern coast of Hodeida was carrying foreigners, including two French nationals and their security crew, and raising the Hong Kong flag.

The source noted that “Houthi armed elements boarded the ship after a gun battle with its crew. Meanwhile, an Italian frigate is working to save the situation”.

According to the source, the yacht is named Lakota, while the boats that carried out the attack carried four to five armed men. They used Kalashnikov weapons and rocket-propelled grenades in the armed attack, which violated the freedom of maritime navigation.

The Combined Task Force (CTF) 153, which is tasked with protecting the Red Sea under the command of the US 5th Fleet, the source said that “the force has not yet done so”, referring to the Houthis’ exploitation of this in carrying out their armed attack against the cruise ship.

This is the first attack of its kind by Houthi naval militias on a Red Sea cruise ship after clashing with its security crew, and also the first since the announcement of the formation of the International Joint Task Force in the Red Sea.

Earlier on Thursday, the British Maritime Trade Operations Authority said on its website that a cargo ship was attacked 34 nautical miles (63 kilometers) southwest of Hodeida, Yemen.

In early January, Houthi militias pirated the UAE ship Rawabi from the international corridor, took it to Salif port, confiscated its cargo and arrested its crew. The crime was condemned by Yemen, the international community and the region

The ship was carrying equipment and field supplies for the operation of the Saudi field hospital in Socotra Island after the completion of its humanitarian mission.

The Houthi militia has taken over a 300-kilometer strip of coastline, including the vital port of Hodeida, as a launching point for maritime attacks and piracy, in coordination with Iranian Red Sea cruise ships.