Ship reports missile attack off Yemen: security agencies
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A vessel reported a missile attack off the Red Sea coast of Yemen on Friday, security agencies said, the second such incident in under 24 hours.
The ship transitting northwest of the Yemeni port city of Mokha "was attacked by a missile and reports an explosion in close proximity", the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations agency said.
UKMTO said military authorities were responding, but noted "the crew and the vessel are reported safe."
Security firm Ambrey said a Panama-flagged tanker northwest of Mokha "experienced an explosion in the vicinity of the vessel and reportedly sustained minor damage".
"Another vessel... to the northeast of the tanker was observed altering course to port, away from the tanker," Ambrey said.
Yemen's Iran-backed Huthi rebels, who did not immediately claim Friday's strike, have been attacking shipping since November in a campaign they say is in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza amid the Israel-Hamas war.
On Thursday, a missile was fired from Huthi-controlled areas towards "a Barbados-flagged, UK-owned and operated bulk carrier", US Central Command said on social media.
That attack was later claimed by the rebels.
The ship reported no injuries but very minor damage and continued its voyage, CENTCOM said on social media on Friday .
The Huthi attacks on the key shipping route through the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea have triggered reprisals by US and British forces, including a fresh wave of American strikes this week.
On Friday, the US military said it conducted two strikes "against three mobile anti-ship cruise missiles (ASCM) in Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen that were prepared to launch against ships in the Red Sea".
The raids occurred on Thursday between 3:10 pm and 8 pm (12:10 GMT and 1700 GMT), CENTCOM said.
The Huthi attacks have prompted some shipping companies to detour around southern Africa to avoid the Red Sea, which normally carries about 12 percent of global maritime trade.
The UN Conference on Trade and Development warned late last month that the volume of commercial traffic passing through the Suez Canal had fallen more than 40 percent in the previous two months.