A vessel on Monday reported an incident southeast of the Yemeni port city of Aden, the UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) agency said, and British security firm Ambrey said the container ship was struck and issued a distress signal.
It remained unconfirmed whether the vessel was directly impacted or sustained damage due to nearby explosions, Ambrey said. UKMTO said the incident happened 91 nautical miles southeast of Aden.
Why was the ship attacked?
Ambrey identified the ship as a Liberia-flagged, Israel-affiliated, container ship en route from Singapore to Djibouti. Neither agency disclosed the vessel's name.
"The vessel was listed as operated by the Israeli company ZIM Integrated Shipping Services. This may have been an out-of-date affiliation, as the vessel was not listed on other public sources," Ambrey added.
The container ship continued to transmit an AIS signal after the incident, UKMTO said.
Iran-backed Houthi militants in Yemen have launched attacks on shipping in the Red Sea region since November in solidarity with Palestinians in the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza.
The Rubymar cargo ship sank on Friday, becoming the first vessel lost since the Houthis began their attacks.
Houthi Spokesperson identifies the vessel
Houthi military spokesperson, Yahya Sarea, said on Monday that the Iran-aligned group had targeted the "Israeli ship MSC SKY" in the Arabian Sea.
"The naval forces of the Yemeni Armed Forces carried out a targeting operation against an Israeli ship MSC SKY in the Arabian Sea with a number of suitable naval missiles, and the hit was accurate and direct," Sarea said in a televised speech.