Yemen’s rebel Houthis hit Norwegian tanker with missile

Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels have hit a Norwegian tanker with at least one missile, causing a fire.

There were no casualties in the attack.

A Houthi spokesman said the MT Strinda was delivering oil to Israel, but the ship’s owners said it was headed to Italy with feedstock for biofuel.

The group has vowed to block ships of any nation heading to Israel until Israel stops its offensive on Gaza, in what the Houthis say is a show of support for the Palestinians.

The United States has said it will consider “appropriate responses” to any such attacks, which it describes as “fully enabled by Iran”.

Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree said in a televised statement that the ship was targeted on Monday after its crew refused to respond to warnings. He said the group had prevented several ships from passing through Yemeni waters in recent days.

The MT Strinda was attacked in the Bab El Mandeb strait at the entrance to the Red Sea.The missile caused a fire on board the ship but it was extinguished and the ship was able to make its way on to a safe port, ship owners J Ludwig Mowinckels Rederi said in a statement. They added that the 30-member crew, who are all Indian citizens, were unharmed.

A US Navy destroyer provided assistance to the MT Strinda after receiving a mayday call, US officials said.

The Bab El Mandeb Strait is a 20-mile wide channel that separates Eritrea and Djibouti on the African side from Yemen on the Arabian Peninsula.

About 17,000 ships and 10% of global trade pass through it every year. Any ship passing through the Suez Canal to or from the Indian Ocean has to come this way.

The Houthis – who are fighting Yemen’s Saudi-backed government – have declared themselves part of an “axis of resistance” of Iran-affiliated groups opposing Israel, the US, and the wider West.

They have already attacked several commercial ships this month, prompting a US destroyer to intervene, and in November they seized the cargo ship ‘Galaxy Leader’.