The aircraft carrier USS Eisenhower, whose helicopters responded to a Houthi attack on a Maersk container ship in the Red Sea, December 31, 2023 (Reuters)
US military helicopters have sunk three boats of Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi insurgents, killing the 10 fighters on board.
US Central Command said the helicopters intervened after a commercial container ship was attacked by the small boats and issued a distress call.
“In the process of issuing verbal calls to the small boats, the small boats fired upon the U.S. helicopters with crew-served weapons and small arms,” Central Command said. “The U.S. Navy helicopters returned fire in self-defense, sinking three of the four small boats, and killing the crews.”
The Houthis, formally known as Ansar Allah, seized Yemen’s capital Sana’a and much of the country in 2014-2015. They have been given political and military assistance, including weapons, by the Iranian regime and Republican Guards.
From October 7, amid Hamas’s mass killings in Israel and then Israel’s mass killings across Gaza, the Houthis have stepped up attacks on shipping in the Red Sea and seized an Israel-linked vessel. Almost 25 drone, missile, and small-boat assaults in six weeks have forced many shippers to redirect traffic around southern Africa’s Cape of Good Hope.
The US and some of its partners have deployed warships in the Red Sea to deter or respond to the attacks. In early December, the destroyer USS Carney shot down three drones during a sustained Houthi attack on commercial ships.
Timeline of the Attack
On Saturday night, a container ship of Maersk, the world’s second-largest operator, was transiting the southern Red Sea when it came under attack by the Houthis. The crew of the Maersk Hangzhou said it was struck by a missile at about 8:30 p.m., about 55 nautical miles southwest of Hudaydah, Yemen.
Two American warships responded to the distress call. The destroyer USS Gravely shot down two anti-ship ballistic missiles fired from Houthi-controlled areas in Yemen.
There were no injuries were reported, and the Maersk Hangzhou continued its journey north.
On Sunday morning, four small boats piloted by Houthis attacked the container ship, getting to within about 20 yards and trying to board it. Security officers opened fire as another distress call was issued. US helicopters launched from the Gravely and the aircraft carrier USS Eisenhower.
Central Command said no US personnel were harmed or equipment damaged.
Maersk said only last week that it was resuming voyages through the Red Sea and the Suez Canal, having halted For about a week.
On Sunday, Maersk said it is pausing all transits through the area for the next 48 hours as it investigates the attack and assesses security in the waterway.
