2M Alliance container vessel assaulted！

　　On April 24, local time, Yemeni Houthi spokesman Yahya Sarea announced that its naval forces have successfully carried out a number of attacks in the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean, targeting the United States, Israel and U.S. ships and U.S. destroyers.

　　According to Sarea’s statement, the Houthis successfully attacked the U.S. container ship “Maersk Yorktown”, which was sailing in the Gulf of Aden, and the missiles launched accurately hit the ship.

　　In addition, the Houthis also claimed to have launched an attack on the Israeli container ship “Mediterranean Sea Veracruz” (MSC Veracruz) in the Indian Ocean, and succeeded in hitting the target.

　　At the same time, they also attacked a U.S. destroyer in the Gulf of Aden, but the specific time and the name of the attacked warship were not disclosed.

In the statement, Sarea emphasized that the Houthis used missiles and drones to carry out the attacks, but did not disclose the specific time of the three attacks and the name of the attacked U.S. destroyer.

　　It is reported that on April 24 local time, the U.S. container ship “Maersk Yorktown” wheel (Maersk Yorktown) in the Gulf of Aden waters suffered a Houthi attack.

　　At that time, there were 18 American crew members and 4 Greek crew members on board. The ship’s captain reported an explosion in the water not far from the ship, but the ship and crew were reported safe.

　　The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Office (UKMTO) also released a report on the attack on the ship, noting that the accident occurred 72 nautical miles east-southeast of the port of Djibouti.

　　The UKMTO report further confirmed the circumstances of the attack on the MAERSK YORKTOWN and emphasized the safety of the ship and crew.

　　Maersk later confirmed the attack on the ship, but emphasized that the attack took place more than a mile away from the ship. The company said that all crew members on board are safe and sound and that the vessel will continue to sail normally under the protection of coalition forces and that there will be no interruption of service as a result of this incident.

　　The “MAERSK YORKTOWN” IMO: 9289192, flying the U.S. flag, is a 2004-built container ship with a capacity of 2,096 TEUs.It is currently deployed by Maersk on the Selale-Djibouti route.

　　Data show that “MAERSK YORKTOWN” arrived in Djibouti from the port of Salalah on April 20, and sailed out of the port of Djibouti on the evening of April 22, but the ship is still anchored in the waters off Djibouti.

　　Container vessel MSC VERACRUZ, IMO: 9287924, Portuguese flag, built in 2005, with a capacity of 5,060 TEU, is currently deployed by MSC on the US-East-India route. “MSC VERACRUZ left the US port of Houston for Abu Dhabi on March 25 and is currently sailing in the Arabian Sea.

　　Since November last year, the Houthis have launched attacks on more than 80 merchant ships, leading to a massive diversion of maritime shipping routes from Asia to Europe. According to the latest data from the UK’s Office for National Statistics (ONS), shipping through the Suez Canal plummeted by as much as 66 percent from mid-December to early April.

　　In their latest statement, the Houthis emphasized that they will continue to intercept all Israeli ships or those sailing to the Red Sea, the Arabian Sea, the Indian Ocean, and the ports of occupied Palestine until Israel stops its aggression and lifts the blockade on the Gaza Strip.

　　Today, U.S. military authorities revealed that the Houthi operation against the 2,500 TEU Maersk Yorktown, which was built in 2004, failed when a Western Coalition warship “pinpointed” an anti-ship ballistic missile fired from Houthi territory. Sarea said in a subsequent statement.

　　In a subsequent statement, Sarea insisted that his organization had carried out a “precision strike” on the USS Yorktown. However, U.S. Central Command made it clear that, despite Sarea’s statement, the Maersk Yorktown and its 18 American and four Greek crewmembers were unharmed and suffered no injuries or damage.

　　This is the second time this month that the Houthis have tried and failed to launch an attack on the Maersk Yorktown. As an important member of the U.S.-registered fleet of the Danish shipping giant Maersk Line, the ship has been a frequent target of Houthi attacks recently. On April 9, the same ship was attacked again in the same area, but fortunately, the anti-ship ballistic missiles launched were successfully intercepted by the naval vessel Rab, again without causing any damage or casualties.

On the other hand, the MSC Veracruz, the other ship claiming to have been attacked, still does not have any independent source that can confirm the Houthi claim of an attack on the MSC vessel. Earlier this month, Sarea claimed – also unconfirmed by other sources – that his organization had attacked the MSC Grace F (built in 1991) in the Indian Ocean. This alleged attack on the MSC Grace F has sparked widespread international concern that the rebel group may indeed launch an attack on ships sailing on the high seas far from Yemen, in line with previous threats.

　　Since mid-November, the Houthis have launched up to 80 attacks on merchant ships in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden in retaliation for Israel’s U.S.-backed military operations against the Palestinian Hamas organization in Gaza.