DUBAI: A missile attack by Yemen&rsquo;s Houthi rebels set a Dutch-flagged cargo ship ablaze in the Gulf of Aden on Monday, officials said, wounding two mariners and forcing its crew to abandon the damaged vessel.&nbsp;It was the most serious attack in the Gulf of Aden, some distance from the Red Sea, where the Iranian-backed Houthis sank two vessels in July.&nbsp;While the rebels did not claim the assault on the Minervagracht, they had threatened to strike ships as part of their campaign over the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip, particularly as Israel squeezes in on Gaza City in a new ground offensive. Meanwhile, the Mideast also remains on edge after the United Nations reimposed sanctions on Iran over its nuclear program.&nbsp;The Minervagracht had been targeted on Sept. 23 in an unsuccessful attack in the Gulf of Aden, which connects to the Red Sea via the Bab el-Mandeb Strait separating East Africa from the Arabian Peninsula. On Monday, a missile launch seen by some in Yemen apparently struck the Minervagracht.&nbsp;Spliethoff, the ship&#39;s owner, described the strike as &ldquo;inflicting substantial damage to the ship.&rdquo; A helicopter evacuated the ship&#39;s 19 crew members, of whom two were wounded, it added.&nbsp;A European naval force operating in the region, known as Operation Aspides, said early Tuesday that the Minervagracht &ldquo;is on fire and adrift&rdquo; after the crew&#39;s rescue. It identified the ship&#39;s crew as coming from the Philippines, Russia, Sri Lanka and Ukraine, with one wounded and stable and another severely wounded and airlifted to Djibouti for medical care.&nbsp;The French military&rsquo;s Maritime Information, Cooperation and Awareness Centre identified the Houthis as carrying out the attack.&nbsp;The Houthis wait hours and even days to claim their assaults and have not yet done so.&nbsp;The rebels have launched missile and drone attacks on over 100 ships and on Israel in response to the war in Gaza, saying they were acting in solidarity with the Palestinians.&nbsp;However, the group&#39;s past targets have had little or no connection to Israel. The US Navy-overseen Joint Maritime Information Centre earlier said that the Minervagracht had &ldquo;no Israeli affiliations.&rdquo;&nbsp;The Houthi attack widens the area of the rebels&#39; recent assaults, as the last recorded attack on a commercial vessel in the Gulf of Aden before the Minervagracht came in August 2024.&nbsp;Their attacks over the past two years have upended shipping in the Red Sea, through which about $1 trillion of goods passed each year before the war.&nbsp;The Houthis stopped their attacks during a brief ceasefire in the war. They later became the target of an intense week-long campaign of airstrikes ordered by US President Donald Trump before he declared a ceasefire had been reached with the rebels. The Houthis sank two vessels in July, killing at least four on board, with others believed to be held by the rebels. They sank two others earlier in the campaign.

Middle East

: A missile attack by Yemen’s Houthi rebels set a Dutch-flagged cargo ship ablaze in the Gulf of Aden on Monday, wounding two mariners and forcing its crew to abandon the damaged vessel.

Missile attack on cargo ship off Yemen wounds 2 and prompts crew to abandon vessel

<span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 700; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">ISLAMABAD: China&rsquo;s coast guard accused a Philippine vessel of ramming near the disputed Scarborough Shoal, but Manila denied it, alleging Chinese forces used water cannons that damaged its ship and injured a crew member.<span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In a statement, China&rsquo;s coast guard said more than 10 Philippine government ships approached from several directions and entered waters around the shoal, which Beijing calls Huangyan Island. It said Chinese units deployed water cannons against the vessels.<span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The encounter came six days after China designated part of Scarborough Shoal a national nature reserve. The Philippine government, which calls the feature Bajo de Masinloc, filed a diplomatic protest.<span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Philippine Coast Guard said two Chinese coast guard ships hit a Filipino fisheries vessel, the BRP Datu Gumbay Piang, with powerful water cannons for nearly 30 minutes, causing &ldquo;significant damage&rdquo; to the captain&rsquo;s cabin and the bridge.<span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">A shattered glass window injured one crew member, it said, while flooding triggered a short circuit that affected electrical outlets and five outdoor air-conditioning units, AP reported.<span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Philippine Coast Guard added that a Chinese navy warship broadcast a radio notice &ldquo;announcing live-fire exercises&rdquo; at the shoal, which it said caused panic among Filipino fishermen.<span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Philippine coast guard and fisheries ships were deployed to the shoal on Tuesday to provide fuel, water, ice and other aid to more than 35 fishing boats in the area. <span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">A statement from the U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio called the Chinese action &ldquo;yet another coercive move to advance sweeping territorial and maritime claims in the South China Sea at the expense of its neighbors.&rdquo; <span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The U.K. and Australia also expressed concern, and the Canadian Embassy in the Philippines said it opposed attempts to use environmental protection as a way to take control over the disputed Scarborough Shoal.

Central Asia

China

China’s coast guard accused a Philippine vessel of ramming near the disputed Scarborough Shoal, but Manila denied it, alleging Chinese forces used water cannons that damaged its ship and injured a crew member

Articles tagged with "Vessel"

Missile attack on cargo ship off Yemen wounds 2 and prompts crew to abandon vessel

Chinese, Philippine ships collide in South China Sea near shoal