Houthis claim strikes on ships, Maersk denies it was attacked

Ahmed Elimam and Clauda Tanios
Updated ·2 min read
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Protestors rally in support of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, in Sanaa

By Ahmed Elimam and Clauda Tanios

(Reuters) -Houthi militants in Yemen said on Tuesday they had mounted six attacks on ships with drones and missiles in the last 72 hours in the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea, but one of the companies named, Denmark's Maersk, denied its vessel had been targeted.

The Houthis said they attacked the Maersk Saratoga, APL Detroit, and the Huang Pu after identifying them as either U.S. or British, in addition to Pretty Lady ship which they claim was heading to Israel, the group's military spokesperson Yahya Sarea said in a statement.

Maersk denied that the Saratoga had been attacked.

"We can confirm that no such incident was reported by the vessel, which is currently safely continuing her normal journey far from the mentioned location," the company said in a statement.

Maersk Saratoga is part of Maersk Line, Limited (MLL) which is the Danish company's U.S. subsidiary that carries significant amounts of cargo for the Department of Defense, Department of State, USAID, and other U.S. government agencies.

The Houthis, who control Yemen's capital and most populous areas, have attacked international shipping in the Red Sea since November in what they say is solidarity with Palestinians, drawing U.S. and British retaliatory strikes since last month.

Sarea added that the group also attacked two U.S destroyers in the Red Sea as well as Israel's city of Eilat.

It was not immediately clear which, if any, of the targets were struck by the drones or missiles.

U.S Central Command said on Sunday that Houthis fired missiles in the vicinity of M/V Huang Pu, a Chinese-owned oil tanker.

According to LSEG data, APL Detroit is a Singaporean-flagged container, while Pretty Lady is a Malta-flagged handymax ship.

The Houthis' escalating drone and missile campaign against commercial shipping has choked trade through the vital Suez Canal linking Asia and Europe and forced many ships to take the longer route around Africa.

(Reporting by Ahmed Elimam and Clauda Tanios in Dubai; Addititional reporting by Stine Jacobsen in Copenhagen; Editing by Andrew Heavens, Jason Neely, Angus MacSwan and Ros Russell)