Two vessels catch fire after missile strikes off Yemen’s Aden

Two ships caught on fire after being hit by projectiles off Yemen’s Aden, two UK maritime agencies reported on Sunday, Reuters reported.

The British security firm Ambrey said on Sunday an Antigua- and Barbuda-flagged general cargo ship was struck by a missile 83 nautical miles southeast of Aden and caught fire. The fire was later contained.

Earlier, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said it had received a report from a captain of a vessel of an incident 80 nautical miles southeast of Aden.

“The ship was heading southwest along the Gulf of Aden at a speed of 8.2 knots when the forward station was struck by a missile. A fire started but was neutralized,” Ambrey said in an advisory note.

Separately, UKMTO said it received a report from a master of a vessel about another incident 70 nautical miles southwest of Aden.

“The master reports that the vessel was hit by an unknown projectile on the aft section, which resulted in a fire. Damage control is underway,” UKMTO said in advisory note.

The two ships were attacked due to the expansion of the military operation against the Zionist regime in the fourth stage of the Yemeni armed forces operation.

Yemenis have declared their open support for Palestine’s struggle against the Israeli occupation since the regime launched a devastating war on Gaza on October 7 after the territory’s Palestinian Resistance movements carried out a surprise retaliatory attack, dubbed Operation Al-Aqsa Storm, against the occupying entity.

Yemeni Armed Forces have said that they won’t stop their attacks until unrelenting Israeli ground and aerial offensives in Gaza, which have killed at least 27,948 people and wounded another 67,459 individuals, come to an end.

The United States and Britain in December announced a military coalition to target Yemen in support of Israel.