ADEN, Yemen: Yemen’s Houthi rebels claimed responsibility for a missile strike on the Dutch-flagged cargo vessel Minervagracht in the Gulf of Aden, their most serious attack on international shipping outside the Red Sea since November 2023.
The attack, launched Monday with a cruise missile, was confirmed by Houthi military spokesperson Brig Gen Yahya Saree, who said the strike targeted the vessel’s owners—Amsterdam-based Spliethoff—for allegedly violating a self-declared ban on access to “the ports of occupied Palestine.”
Saree described the operation as a response to “genocide and starvation perpetrated by the Zionist enemy against our people in Gaza” and a continuation of the Houthis’ effort to block Israeli-linked shipping in the Red and Arabian Seas.
Crew Evacuated After Fire
The strike injured two sailors and forced the evacuation of all 19 crew members, including nationals from the Philippines, Russia, Sri Lanka, and Ukraine, after the ship caught fire and was left adrift, the EU naval mission Operation Aspides reported.
The Joint Maritime Information Centre, overseen by the US Navy, initially assessed the vessel had no Israeli ties, though later noted it was “reviewing vessel affiliations for possible links.”
Wider Campaign Against Shipping
The Houthis have already targeted over 100 vessels since the Gaza war began, sinking four and killing at least eight mariners. Their strikes have disrupted Red Sea traffic, a corridor once carrying about $1 trillion in goods annually.
The Minervagracht incident underscores the rebels’ expanding operational reach, striking deep into the Gulf of Aden, far beyond their usual Red Sea theater. It comes amid surging regional tensions following renewed Israeli ground operations in Gaza and fresh UN sanctions on Iran, the Houthis’ primary backer.
