Sea drone damages ship off Yemen port

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AFP) — A sea drone hit a ship off Yemen’s rebel-run port city of Hodeida on Tuesday, puncturing a ballast tank which is used to adjust buoyancy, a British maritime agency said.

“The vessel has been hit by an uncrewed surface vessel. Number 6 port ballast tank has been punctured,” the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO), run by Britain’s Royal Navy, said in a statement.

The same ship, sailing 118 kilometers northwest of Hodeida, had come under threat earlier on Tuesday, UKMTO said, reporting four splashes sighted in close proximity.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility.

But Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis have been attacking ships in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden since November, in a campaign they say is intended to signal solidarity with Palestinians during the Gaza war.

The drone and missile attacks have disrupted maritime traffic in the Red Sea and triggered reprisal strikes by the United States and Britain against Huthi targets in Yemen.

On Sunday, Israeli struck Hodeida after the Houthis said they targeted Israel’s Ben Gurion Airport with a missile.

The attack, the second by Israel on the vital port city since July, killed at least five people and wounded dozens more, according to rebel-run media.