Commercial Vessel “Not Under Command” After Red Sea Attack 

A commercial vessel in the southern Red Sea has been hit by “two unidentified projectiles” and “hit by a third projectile,” according to a post on X by UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO). The UK Navy said the vessel was “not under command” following the attack. 

UKMTO said the Red Sea incident occurred about 77 nautical miles west of Al Hudayah, Yemen. No details were given about the type of vessel or the ship’s name.

Here are more details about the attack as reported by UKMTO: 

The Master of a merchant vessel reported at 0257UTC that the vessel was approached by two small craft. The first craft had 3-5 persons onboard, while the second had approximately 10. The two small craft hailed the merchant vessel, leading to a brief exchange of small arms fire. The distance between the small craft and the merchant vessel subsequently increased to 2NM. Subsequently at 0500UTC, the Master reported that the merchant vessel had been struck by two unidentified projectiles before being hit by a third projectile. The vessel reports being not under command. No casualties reported.

There was no immediate claim for the attack. Still, Iran-backed Houthi rebels based in Yemen have carried out dozens of attacks on commercial ships in the Red Sea and Gulf of Oman since the Israel-Hamas war erupted last October. In June, Houthis used a sea drone for the first time to sink a merchant ship. Biden-Harris administration’s Operation Prosperity Guardian to ensure freedom of navigation in the Red Sea has largely failed, sparking supply chain snarls across the global shipping market.

Meanwhile, a spokesperson for the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said Tuesday that Iran’s retaliation attack against Israel for the killing of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran will take time. 

State media quoted Ali Mohammad Naeini as saying, “Time is on our side, and the waiting period for this response may be prolonged.”

The Middle East has been on high alert for broadening conflict since last month’s assassination of Haniyeh in Tehran. This followed the assassination of Hezbollah commander Fu’ad Shukr in Beirut.

Furthermore, Iran rejected a call Tuesday by Britain, France, and Germany to refrain from any retaliatory attacks against Israel that could spark regional conflict.