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U.S. Navy vessels dispatched to protect international shipping sank three small boats and downed two anti-ship missiles fired by Iran-allied Houthis forces in Yemen Saturday in the Red Sea, the U.S. Central Command announced Sunday in a statement.
Two American destroyers in the area, the USS Gravely and the USS Laboon, were responding to a distress call from the container ship Maersk Hangzhou, which reported having been hit by a missile.
While coming to the commercial ship’s aid, the USS Gravely shot down two anti-ship missiles that U.S. commanders said had been fired from Houthi-controlled territory in nearby Yemen.
Hours later, the Denmark-owned container ship issued a second distress call, saying it was under attack from gunmen in four small boats. The USS Gravely and the USS Eisenhower responded to the second incident, as a security team on the commercial boat was exchanging fire with the attackers.
After verbal warnings failed to stop the gunmen, “the U.S. Navy helicopters returned fire in self-defense, sinking three of the four small boats and killing the crews,” CENTCOM officials said in a statement on social media. “The fourth boat fled the area. There was no damage to U.S. personnel or equipment.”
Maersk officials said later the crew of the Maersk Hangzhou was safe and the ship was continuing its voyage north to Port Suez.
U.S. officials say there have been nearly two dozen attacks by Houthi rebels on international shipping in the critical Red Sea waterway in recent weeks.
The Houthis, who have a close diplomatic and military relationship with Iran, have said they are targeting Israeli and Israel-linked ships in the transit route in solidarity with Palestinians battling Israeli forces in the Gaza Strip. Other Iran-allied forces in Syria, Iraq and Lebanon have also staged attacks on Israeli and U.S. targets in the region, sparking fears the Gaza fighting could lead to a broader Middle East war.
The Bab el-Mandeb Strait off Yemen’s coast connects the Gulf of Aden to the Red Sea and then the Suez Canal, providing a key link between markets in Asia and Europe.
A number of major international shipping lines have cancelled or suspended transits through the area in response to the repeated attacks.
The Pentagon has spearheaded the multinational Operation Prosperity Garden to protect merchant ships in the Red Sea, but a U.S. naval commander over the weekend said there was no sign yet the Houthis had stopped their “reckless” attacks.
Fifth Fleet commander Vice Adm. Brad Cooper told the Associated Press that commercial traffic has begun to pick up in recent days despite the attacks, with more countries signing on to the protection mission.
The admiral said there are now five warships from the United States, France and the United Kingdom patrolling the area and ships participating in the mission. The joint mission set up less than two weeks ago had shot down a total of 17 drones and four anti-ship ballistic missiles before the weekend’s clashes.
“Commerce is definitely flowing,” Adm. Cooper told the wire service.
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