The Houthi militias in Yemen have again attacked a US merchant ship.

The Iranian-backed militia said on Friday night that it had attacked the tanker “Chem Ranger” with missiles in the Gulf of Aden.

Several rockets hit their target.

However, the US military command center responsible for the region, Central Command, stated that the “Chem Ranger” was attacked by the Houthis with two anti-ship missiles, but was not hit.

"The crew observed how the rockets hit the water near the ship," the regional command explained in the short message service X. There were no injuries and no damage to the ship.

"The ship continued its journey."

According to the information, the tanker sails under the flag of the Marshall Islands, is owned by a US shipping company and is operated by a Greek company.

According to the specialized website Marine Traffic, it was a chemical tanker that was en route from Jeddah in Saudi Arabia to Kuwait.

Neither injuries nor damage

Meanwhile, the security company Ambrey said, presumably about the same incident, that drones in the region had approached an unnamed chemical tanker flying the Marshall Islands flag.

One of the drones hit the water around 30 meters from the ship.

There were no injuries or damage and an Indian warship attended the incident.

The British Maritime Security Authority (UKMTO) made similar statements.

The Houthi militias have been attacking ships in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, particularly since the beginning of the war between Israel and the Islamist terrorist organization Hamas.

Pentagon spokeswoman: “We don’t want war”

»We don't want war.

We don't believe we are at war," said Pentagon spokeswoman Sabrina Singh on Thursday (local time) in Washington about the situation in the Red Sea.

The Houthis are the ones who continue to fire cruise missiles and anti-ship missiles at innocent sailors and merchant ships.

»What we do together with our partners is self-defense.«

The US and Britain bombed Houthi positions in Yemen a week ago in response to the attacks.

The US has carried out four more attacks since then, the most recent on Thursday.

They also reclassified the Houthis as a terrorist organization.

The shipping route from the Mediterranean via the Suez Canal, the Red Sea, the Bab al-Mandeb Strait, the Gulf of Aden to the Indian Ocean is an extremely important route for world trade and leads directly past Yemen.

According to the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS), twelve percent of world trade passes through the Red Sea.

hen/dpa/AFP