Danish vessel hit by Houthi missile in Red Sea - no injuries reported

Danish shipping company Maersk reported that one of its vessels, the Maersk Hangzhou, was struck by a missile while transiting the Red Sea late Saturday evening.

The incident happened as the ship was passing through the Bab al-Mandeb Strait, which connects the Red Sea with the Gulf of Aden.

U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) reported that two of its vessels, USS Gravely and USS Laboon, responded to a distress call from the Maersk Hangzhou. While responding, the USS Gravely shot down two additional anti-ship ballistic missiles from Houthi territory. There were no reported injuries from the incident.

CENTCOM said the attack represents “the 23rd illegal attack by Houthis on international shipping since Nov. 19.”

The Houthi rebels announced in November that they would attack all vessels transiting the Red Sea with commercial connections to Israel.

Later Sunday morning, the US Navy announced that it sank three out of four small boats participating in the attack on the Maersk Hangzhou. The occupants of the small boats opened fire with small arms at a US Navy helicopter sent to investigate the ship's condition. The helicopter responded with fire, sinking three of the four boats. The fourth boat managed to escape.