Houthis announced on 3 August that they have attacked a Liberia-flagged container vessel, the MV Groton, in the Gulf of Aden.
This incident marks the Houthis’ first attack on shipping lanes since Israel’s retaliatory airstrike on Hodeidah port on July 20. Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree stated that the vessel was targeted by ballistic missiles, Reuters reports.
The attack occurred approximately 125 nautical miles east of Yemen’s port of Aden, according to the British maritime agency UKMTO and the security firm Ambrey. Fortunately, there were no reports of water entry or oil leaks from the vessel, which was en route to Djibouti.
20240803-UKMTO INCIDENT 105 WARNING-ATTACK -UPDATE 001
The Company Security Officer reports that the vessel was hit by a missile. No fire, no water ingress, no oil leakage is observed.https://t.co/6mNrG6W5iO#MaritimeSecurity #MarSec pic.twitter.com/fJANz5is9V
— United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) (@UK_MTO) August 3, 2024
This incident follows a period of relative quiet after Houthis’ prior attacks on international shipping.
