The ship was damaged in a missile attack in Yemen

A ship was damaged by a missile attack off the coast of Yemen, where Houthi rebels are increasing attacks on merchant shipping, British maritime security firm Ambrey said on Tuesday.

• Read more: Two bombs reportedly exploded near a ship in the Yemeni Sea

• Read more: The Houthis have claimed to have fired on a merchant ship near Yemen

“The ship was targeted by three missiles 54 nautical miles (about 100 km, editor’s note) southwest of Hodeidah,” and “indicates the barrier is damaged and filling with water,” Ambrey said.

British Maritime Safety Agency UKMTO reported an “incident” in the Red Sea without further details.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack.

Since November, Iran-backed Yemeni rebels have attacked ships in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden and said they were acting in solidarity with Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, where Israel has been at war with the Islamist movement Hamas for nearly eight months.

The United States, Israel’s closest ally, deployed a multinational force in December to protect navigation in this strategic area for global trade and launched strikes in Yemen in January with the help of the United Kingdom against the rebels.

But the strikes have not deterred the Houthis, who control vast swaths of territory and say they are now also targeting US and British ships.

On Monday, the US Middle East Command (CENTCOM) said it had destroyed a drone launched by the Houthis that “represented an imminent threat to merchant shipping in the region”.

Hours earlier, the rebels said they had carried out three operations against merchant ships and two against US warships, but these attacks have not been confirmed by other sources.

On Friday, they targeted the Greek company Eastern Mediterranean Maritime’s bulk carrier Yanis, which serves Israeli ports.

Maritime security agencies said that there was no loss of life or damage in this attack.