U.S. Central Command confirmed that
Iran-backed Houthis launched three anti-ship ballistic missiles into the Red
Sea from Yemen causing minor damage to the Andromeda Star.
The
ship’s master reported damage to the vessel, British maritime security firm
Ambrey said.
A
missile landed in the vicinity of a second vessel, the MV Maisha, but it was
not damaged, U.S. Central Command said on social media site X.
Houthi
spokesman Yahya Sarea said the Panama-flagged Andromeda Star was British owned,
but shipping data shows it was recently sold, according to LSEG data and
Ambrey.
Its
current owner is Seychelles-registered. The tanker is engaged in Russia-linked
trade. It was en route from Primorsk,
Russia, to Vadinar, India, Ambrey said.
Iran-aligned
Houthi militants have launched repeated drone and missile strikes in the Red
Sea, Bab al-Mandab Strait and Gulf of Aden since November, forcing shippers to
re-route cargo to longer and more expensive journeys around southern Africa and
stoking fears the Israel-Hamas war could spread and destabilise the Middle
East.
The
attack on the Andromeda Star comes after a brief pause in the Houthis’ campaign
that targets ships with ties to Israel, the United States and Britain.
The USS
Dwight D. Eisenhower aircraft carrier sailed out of the Red Sea via the Suez
Canal on Friday after assisting a U.S.-led coalition to protect commercial
shipping.
The Houthis on Friday 26 April said
they downed an American MQ-9 drone in airspace of Yemen’s Saada province.