Houthis Attack US Ship Chem Ranger in Gulf of Aden

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Yemen's Ansar Allah movement, also known as the Houthis, has attacked a US ship, the Marshall Islands-flagged chemical tanker Chem Ranger, in the Gulf of Aden with naval missiles, "resulting in direct hits," Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree said Thursday.

"The naval forces of the Yemeni Armed Forces carried out a targeting operation against an American ship (Chem Ranger) in the Gulf of Aden with several appropriate naval missiles, resulting in direct hits," Saree said in a statement on X (formerly Twitter), adding that "a retaliation to the American and British attacks is inevitable, and that any new aggression will not go unpunished."

The spokesman added that Yemen's armed forces "confirm that navigation traffic in the Arab and Red Seas will continue to all destinations around the world except for the ports of occupied Palestine" while vowing to continue blocking "Israeli navigation" and ships "heading to the ports of occupied Palestine" until a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip is achieved.

The US Central Command (CENTCOM) confirmed on Thursday that the Ansar Allah movement has attacked the Marshall Islands-flagged, US-Owned and Greek-operated tanker ship Chem Ranger in the Gulf of Aden, but there was no damage to the ship and no one was injured.

"On Jan. 18 at approximately 9 p.m. (Sanaa time), Iranian-backed Houthi terrorists launched two anti-ship ballistic missiles at M/V Chem Ranger, a Marshall Island-flagged, U.S.-Owned, Greek-operated tanker ship. The crew observed the missiles impact the water near the ship. There were no reported injuries or damage to the ship. The ship has continued underway," CENTCOM said on X (formerly Twitter).