Bulk ship boarded off Yemen

A Bulgaria-owned bulk ship was reportedly boarded in the Arabian Sea off the coast of Yemen as Houthi rebels who control much of the country admitted firing earlier a missile on another vessel, according to officials.

Shipping company Navibulgar confirmed in a statement that one of its vessels, The Ruen, "is the subject of a security incident 380 nautical miles east of the island of Socotra, Yemen" but did not provide further details.

Company chief Aleksander Kalchev told local media that contact with the vessel was lost in waters that had not previously been known for pirate attacks.

"The Malta-flagged bulk carrier was reportedly boarded," British maritime risk management company Ambrey said Thursday.

An Iran-flagged fishing vessel that had previously been operating off Somalian shores had switched off its AIS transponder six hours prior to the incident, close to where the bulk carrier appeared to come adrift, it added.

The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations agency also issued a boarding warning on Thursday, saying it has received a report of a distress call from a vessel "being boarded by unknown persons… approximately 700 nautical miles east of Bossaso, Somalia."

"Vessels are advised to transit with caution and report any suspicious activity to UKMTO," it added.

Meanwhile, Houthi rebels said Thursday its drone fired on the Maersk Gibraltar container ship and the hit was direct."

Danish shipping giant Maersk confirmed no one was hurt in the incident involving its ship, which was sailing from Salalah, Oman to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

The United States Central Command said in a post on X that a ballistic missile had been "fired from a Houthi-controlled area of Yemen toward the international shipping lane north of the Bab-el-Mandeb," the strait between Yemen and the Horn of Africa leading to the Red Sea, but there were no injuries or damages to the Hong Kong-flagged vessel.

Houthi spokesperson Yahya Saree said the attack came after the ship's crew "refused to respond to the calls of the Yemeni naval services" and that it was intended as retaliation for the "oppression of the Palestinian people."

The rebels have vowed to attack any vessel along the strait that they believe to be headed to Israel.