DUBAI — US Navy helicopters sank three
of four small boats used by Iranian-backed Houthi militants to
attack a Maersk container vessel in the southern
Red Sea, the US military said on Sunday.
Helicopters from the USS Eisenhower and USS Gravely, responding to distress calls from the Maersk Hangzhou, returned fire on the Houthi boats in self-defense and sank three of the vessels with no survivors, US Central Command (CENTCOM) said in a statement.
The fourth boat fled the area, said the statement on social media platform X.
Danish shipping company Maersk confirmed that the crew onboard Maersk Hangzhou had reported a flash on deck on Dec. 30 at around 1830 CET, when the vessel was 55 nautical miles southwest of Hodeidah.
The crew was safe and there was no indication of fire onboard the vessel that was fully manoeuvrable and continued its journey north to Port Suez, Maersk said.
The Houthi militants in Yemen have stepped up attacks on vessels in the Red Sea to show their support for Palestinian Islamist group Hamas fighting Israel in Gaza.
of four small boats used by Iranian-backed Houthi militants to
attack a Maersk container vessel in the southern
Red Sea, the US military said on Sunday.
Helicopters from the USS Eisenhower and USS Gravely,
responding to distress calls from the Maersk Hangzhou, returned fire on the Houthi boats in self-defense
and sank...