Yemen's Houthi rebels claim missile attack on Dutch-flagged ship in Gulf of Aden

Yemens Houthi rebels claimed responsibility early on Wednesday for an attack this week that left a Dutchflagged cargo ship ablaze and adrift in the Gulf of Aden underlining the range of their weaponry and their campaign targeting shipping over the IsraelHamas warThe attack on Monday on the Minervagracht was the most serious assault in months by the Iranianbacked Houthis in the Gulf of Aden which is some distance from the Red Sea where they have sunk four vessels since November 2023It came as Israel engages in a new ground offensive targeting Gaza City and efforts to reach a ceasefire again hang in the balance Meanwhile the Middle East also remains on edge after the United Nations reimposed sanctions on Iran over its nuclear programme The Houthis separately threatened to employ all means and instruments available to target several American oil firms The Houthis fired a cruise missile that targeted and struck the Minervagracht Houthi military spokesman Brig Gen Yahya Saree saidSaree accused the ships owners Amsterdambased Spliethoff of violating the entry ban to the ports of occupied Palestine Initially the US Navyoverseen Joint Maritime Information Centre said the Minervagracht had no ties to Israel but a note Tuesday said the centre was reviewing vessel affiliations for possible links to IsraelThe attack wounded two mariners on board the Minervagracht whose 19member crew hailed from the Philippines Russia Sri Lanka and Ukraine They were forced to evacuate the ship after the strike inflicted substantial damage Spliethoff said Wednesday it was working with international authorities and salvage experts to safeguard and secure the vessel A European naval force operating in the region known as Operation Aspides said Tuesday the Minervagracht was on fire and adrift after the crews rescueWe would again like to express our deepest concern over this weeks incident which was a direct attack on our innocent seafarers and a breach of the right of free navigation Spliethoff said in a statement The Netherlands Foreign Ministry separately said Wednesday it would pursue placing European Union sanctions on the Houthis over the attackThe Houthis long have posed a serious threat to the freedom of navigation the statement said This is unacceptable The Houthis have launched missile and drone attacks on over 100 ships and on Israel in response to the war in Gaza saying they were acting in solidarity with the Palestinians However some of the groups targets have had tenuous links or no connections at all to IsraelThe Houthi attack widens the area of the rebels recent assaults as the last recorded attack on a commercial vessel in the Gulf of Aden before the Minervagracht came in August 2024 Their attacks over the past two years have upended shipping in the Red Sea through which about 1 trillion of goods passed each year before the warThe Houthis stopped their attacks on shipping and Israel itself during a brief ceasefire in the war They later became the target of an intense weekslong campaign of airstrikes ordered by US President Donald Trump before he declared a ceasefire had been reached with the rebels The Houthi campaign against shipping has killed at least eight mariners and seen four ships sunkMeanwhile the Houthis said Wednesday they had levied sanctions against multiple American oil companies including Chevron Corp ConocoPhillips and Exxon Mobil Corp as well as individuals and two ships The rebels in the past have issued such designations before launching attacksThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever