Missile hits cargo ship off Yemen, says maritime risk company

A missile has hit a cargo ship off Yemen, said maritime risk management company Ambrey on Tuesday (January 16). The report has followed a series of attacks Yemen's Houthi rebels carried out against shipping in vital trade routes in the Red Sea.

"A Malta-flagged, Greek-owned bulk carrier was reportedly targeted and impacted with a missile while transiting the southern Red Sea northbound," Ambrey said in an alert.

The company added that the ship had visited Israel since the outbreak of Israel war. Ambrey said that the ship was headed to the Suez Canal and changed course to head to a port after it was attacked.

Watch | Iran-backed Houthi rebels continue to assault on commercial vessels

AFP cited a source within Greek maritime affairs ministry to say that the ship was named Zografia. The 24-crew vessel was sailing from Vietnam to Israel.

The Zografia "sustained limited damage... but remains in a navigable condition, and is continuing its journey," the source said as quoted by AFP.

Houthi rebels did not immediately release any official statement. The rebels have been attacking shipping in the Red Sea for quite a while now. The Houthi rebels claim that the attacks are carried out to show solidarity with people in the Gaza Strip.

The rebels have attacked US-owned ships too. On Sunday, the US forces shot down a cruise missile launched by Houthi rebel. The missile was targetting a US destroyer. On Monday a US-owned cargo ship got hit by rebel missile in Gulf of Oman.

Also Read | US-owned cargo ship hit by missile off the coast of Yemen in latest attack

The ongoing Israel war is threatening to revive regional enmities and analysts are expressing fears that the war may spark a wider conflict in the region.

On Friday last week, the United States, along with the UK, launched strikes on many Houthi sites in parts of Yemen held by the rebels. These strikes were carried out as retaliation to previous Houthi attacks carried out in the Red Sea.

Also Read | Iran launches barrage of missile strikes in northern Iraq and Syria; US condemns attacks

On Tuesday, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO), a British navy-run maritime security agency also reported an 'incident' in northwest of Saleef in Yemen. It was not immediately clear whether UKMTO was reporting the same attack previously mentioned by Ambrey.

US says seized Iranian missile parts enroute to Houthis

The US military said on Tuesday that it seized Iranian-made missile parts which were being sent to Houthi rebels. The US said that its military seized a boat in the Arabian Sea that was carrying these missile parts.

US Central Command said on X that the seized material included both ""Iranian-made ballistic missile and cruise missiles components". The command added that to US Navy SEALS involved with the missed were reported lost at sea and "an exhaustive search" was underway.

(With inputs from agencies)