New drone attack on ship in Gulf of Aden

(Alamy/PA)

A ship has come under attack in the Gulf of Aden which was likely to have been a bomb-carrying drone, the British military said.

The attack happened 70 miles south east of the city of Aden, said United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations, an arm of the Royal Navy that oversees Middle Eastern waterways.

The ship’s captain reported there was a fire onboard which had been extinguished, it said. “Vessel and crew are safe and proceeding to next port of call.”

The British military did not identify the vessel or who they suspected in the attack. No group immediately claimed responsibility.

The Houthis have launched a series of similar attacks on vessels since November in the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea over what they say is an attempt to back Hamas and Palestinians trapped in the Gaza Strip amid Israel’s war on Hamas.

The US and its allies have carried out three rounds of air strikes targeting Houthi sites over the last week, to try to deter the militants.

However, the Houthis have launched several attacks in the time since, further endangering ships travelling on a crucial trade route for cargo and energy shipments moving from Asia and the Middle East towards Europe.

The Houthi attacks are one part of wider tensions gripping the region. Iran staged air strikes late on Monday in Iraq, killing at least four people.

The UK’s ambassador to Iraq, Stephen Hitchen, said on Wednesday that a British national, Karam Mikhael, was among the civilians killed there.

(PA Graphics)

Iran has been edging closer to acknowledging its own role in attacking a vessel in the Indian Ocean near Sri Lanka and India on January 4. The chemical tanker Pacific Gold was struck by what the US Navy called “an Iranian one-way attack” drone, causing some damage to the vessel but no injuries.

On Wednesday, Lebanese broadcaster Al-Mayadeen reported Iran’s Revolutionary Guard carried out that attack, as well as another one not independently confirmed on a separate vessel.

Al-Mayadeen is a channel politically affiliated with Hezbollah which has previously announced other Iran-linked attacks in the region.

The Pacific Gold is managed by Singapore-based Eastern Pacific Shipping, a company that is ultimately controlled by Israeli billionaire Idan Ofer. Eastern Pacific has previously been targeted in suspected Iranian attacks.

Iran potentially acknowledging the Pacific Gold attack comes as Tehran has been trying to lash out without directly targeting either the US or Israel.