Yemen’s Mayun Island in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait and mainland Yemen are seen in this May 8, 2021 satellite photograph from Planet Labs Inc.
Two missiles fired from territory held by Yemen’s Houthi rebels missed a commercial tanker near the key Bab el-Mandeb Strait today, a US official says.
An American warship also shot down a suspected Houthi drone flying in its direction during the incident, says the official. No one was hurt in the attack, the official says.
The ship that was targeted, the Marshall Islands-flagged Ardmore Encounter oil and chemical tanker, was traveling north toward the Suez Canal in the Red Sea, satellite tracking data analyzed by The Associated Press showed.
The vessel had been coming from India and had an armed security crew aboard it, according to data transmitted by the ship.
Ardmore Shipping Corp., which owns and operates the ship, does not immediately respond to a request for comment. The company trades on the New York Stock Exchange and shares were slightly up in aftermarket trading to $13.64 a share.
The Houthis do not immediately acknowledge the attack. The British military’s United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations, which provides warnings to sailors in the Middle East, earlier reported an incident in the same area of the Ardmore Encounter. It also reported an incident occurring off the coast of Oman.
