Red Sea under fire: Armed attack on commercial ship raises tensions amid Houthi threats

Armed men aboard skiffs attacked a commercial vessel in the Red Sea off the coast of Yemen on Sunday (July 6), firing small arms and rocket-propelled grenades, in one of the most serious maritime assaults in recent weeks amid persistent threats by Yemen’s Houthi rebels.

The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) center, run by Britain’s Royal Navy, said the attack occurred 51 nautical miles (94 kilometers) southwest of the Houthi-held port of Hodeida. An armed security team aboard the vessel returned fire, and the “situation is ongoing,” it said.

UK-based maritime security firm Ambrey reported that the ship was targeted by eight skiffs and later struck by two unmanned surface vehicles, damaging its cargo. Two additional unmanned vessels were repelled, and the vessel was reportedly still moving northbound through the Red Sea.

No group has officially claimed responsibility, but Ambrey noted that the targeted vessel matched the “established Houthi target profile.” The Houthi-run Al-Masirah television channel acknowledged the attack but did not provide details, instead airing a speech by the group’s leader, Abdul Malik al-Houthi.

Sunday’s attack comes against a backdrop of soaring regional tensions following the Israel-Hamas war, airstrikes by the United States on Iranian nuclear sites, and a brief Iran-Israel conflict earlier this year. The US Navy’s Bahrain-based 5th Fleet referred inquiries to Central Command, which did not immediately respond.

The Houthis, backed by Iran, have launched a sustained anti-shipping campaign since November 2023, initially targeting Israel-linked vessels in solidarity with Hamas amid the war in Gaza. After US and British forces struck Houthi targets in January 2024, the rebels expanded their maritime campaign to include American and British-affiliated ships.

Between November 2023 and January 2025, Houthi attacks damaged or sank over 100 merchant vessels, killing four sailors and prompting many global freight companies to reroute around the Cape of Good Hope, bypassing the Red Sea corridor that usually carries 12 per cent of global trade.

In mid-March, the United States launched a broader military offensive against the Houthis, prompting the rebels to declare a unilateral ceasefire. That pause in maritime attacks was broken Sunday, though the Houthis have continued firing occasional missiles at Israel during the lull.

Meanwhile, the decadelong civil war in Yemen remains in a deadlock between the Houthi rebels and the Saudi-led coalition-backed exiled Yemeni government. The Yemeni Coast Guard, aligned with the exiled government, has also engaged in past firefights in the Red Sea, further complicating maritime security.

Though Somali pirates have previously operated in the region, their activities typically involve hijacking for ransom and have been less frequent in recent years.

With inputs from agencies