Yemen’s Houthi militants targeted a Liberian-flagged tanker in the narrow Bab al-Mandab Strait on Wednesday, as authorities acknowledged the group launched their longest-range attack yet on a US-flagged vessel near the Arabian Sea.
The attacks come after an unexplained pause of a week and a half. The rebels may be regrouping ahead of the arrival of a new U.S. aircraft carrier to the region after the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower began heading home.
The Joint Maritime Information Center, which is overseen by the U.S. Navy, identified the Liberian-flagged vessel as the Mount Fuji. The attack occurred south of Mocha, the British military’s United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations center said. The captain reported explosions off the vessel’s side.
The “vessel and all crew are safe,” the UKMTO said. “The vessel is proceeding to its next port of call.”
The Houthis have been attacking ships in the busy Red Sea corridor since November after the Israel-Hamas war began in Gaza. The rebels have not claimed the most recent attack as of early Thursday, though they often don’t do so for hours or days.
