Maersk refutes the Houthi claim that a Yemeni militia struck a container ship

The Houthis earlier claimed it carried out a military operation against a Maersk container vessel

COPENHAGEN– On Friday, the Houthi movement in Yemen, which is aligned with Iran, claimed that a Maersk ship heading towards Israel was struck by a drone. However, Danish shipping company Maersk refuted this claim.

The Houthis had earlier declared that they had used a drone to strike a Maersk container ship directly as part of a military operation. The Houthis, who made the assertion in a statement, withheld any supporting documentation.

On Thursday, Maersk announced that the crew and ship of the Maersk Gibraltar were safe after the ship was hit by a missile on its way from Salalah, Oman, to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

“The vessel was not hit,” a Maersk representative informed Reuters via email in response to the Houthi assertion.

In the vicinity of the Bad al-Mandab Strait, which connects the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden, an attack on a Norwegian chemical tanker with missiles was carried out on Tuesday, as claimed by Yemen’s Houthis.

“It is very concerning that commercial vessels in the Bad al-Mandab Strait have been attacked recently. Maersk previously stated that the current state of affairs is unsustainable for global trade and endangers the lives of seafarers.

Yehia Sareea, a spokesman for the Houthi military, said late on Thursday that the militia had used a drone to attack the Maersk container ship because it had disregarded their warnings.

Speaking on the condition of anonymity, a US official claimed that the Houthis attempted to stop the Maersk ship by firing a shot, but their attempt was unsuccessful. The official also stated that at the time of the incident, US forces were not present in the area.

Subsequently on Thursday, the US Central Command (CENTCOM) verified that no casualties or property damage resulted from the attack, which it claimed was executed by a ballistic missile.

“The Houthis, who threatened further missile attacks, hailed the M/V Maersk Gibraltar,” CENTCOM posted on social media platform X. “While this incident did not involve US Forces, we continue to closely monitor the situation.”

Since the beginning of the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza more than two months ago, the Houthis, who are aligned with Iran, have attacked ships in Red Sea shipping lanes and fired drones and missiles at Israel, raising concerns about a wider conflict in the Middle East.

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The group that controls a large portion of Yemen claims that its attacks are an expression of solidarity with the Palestinians and that they will not stop until Israel ends its incursion into the Gaza Strip.