CAIRO (Reuters) -A Liberia-flagged tanker was struck twice with missiles and drones in the Red Sea on Thursday morning, in an attack claimed by Iran-aligned Houthi militants.
The Olympic Spirit was hit about 73 nautical miles (135 kilometres) southwest of the Yemeni port of Hodeidah, British maritime security firm Ambrey said.
The tanker, en route from Saudi Arabia’s Jeddah to Muscat in Oman, was struck on its starboard side. The projectile hit the bridge causing minor damage, Ambrey said.
Four hours later, two additional projectiles reportedly detonated within 0.27 nautical mile of the vessel’s port side.
The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations agency said in a statement that the captain of the Olympic Spirit did not report any fires on board or casualties.
“The damage is minor. The vessel has some technical issues, but it is seaworthy and continues its journey,” a maritime security source said. “They (the crew members) are all safe.”
The vessel is proceeding to its next port of call, the UK maritime agency added.
The Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi movement said later on Thursday it had targeted the Olympic Spirit with 11 ballistic missiles and two drones.
It added that it had also targeted a vessel it identified as St. John in the Indian Ocean with a winged missile, as part of attacks it launches on global shipping over Israel’s war in Gaza.
Houthi fighters in Yemen have carried out nearly 100 attacks on ships crossing the Red Sea since November and say they are acting in solidarity with Palestinians in Israel’s year-long war in Gaza. They have sunk two vessels, seized another and killed at least four seafarers.
(Reporting by Ahmed Tolba and Enas Alashray in Cairo and Ahmed Elimam and Tala Ramadan in Dubai and Renee Maltezou and Yannis Souliotis in Athens; Editing by Kim Coghill, Christian Schmollinger, Lincoln Feast, Sharon Singleton and Lisa Shumaker)
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