They hit the ship by firing missiles, some of which "hit their target," the rebels said in a statement.
Yemen's Houthi rebels claimed responsibility in the early hours of the morning for strikes on a US merchant ship moving in the Gulf of Aden, in a show of "solidarity" with the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. According to Washington, the attack caused neither casualties nor material damage.
"The navy of the Yemeni armed forces (as the Houthis call their armed arm) conducted a targeted operation against a US ship, the Chem Ranger, in the Gulf of Aden", launching missiles some of which "hit their target" , the rebels said in a statement.
The joint command of the American armed forces responsible for the Middle East region (CENTCOM, "central command") confirmed that the Houthis did indeed target an American merchant ship managed by a Greek shipping company, yesterday Thursday, with "two missiles". but without hitting the Chem Ranger, as the rebels claimed.
The crew of the Marshall Islands-flagged vessel "saw missiles fall into the water near the vessel," but "no injuries or damage to the vessel" was reported, which "continued on its course," he said via X (formerly Twitter).
According to the same source, this attack, the most launched by the Houthis against commercial ships, took place at around 21:00 (Yemen time; 20:00 Cyprus time).
According to the specialized website Marine Traffic, the Chem Ranger is a Marshall Islands-flagged oil tanker that has been sailing for the past few days off the coast of Yemen.
For its part, the British Maritime Safety Office (UKMTO) reported an "incident" 115 nautical miles southeast of the city of Aden, stressing that an explosion occurred within 30 meters of a ship and that a drone was flying nearby.
"Retaliation to the American and British attacks is inevitable" and "any new attack will be punished", threatened the Yemeni rebels, who assure that they will only target ships going to Israel "as long as a ceasefire is not implemented and the siege is not lifted" in Gaza".
American bombing continues
The United States hit Houthi positions in Yemen for the fifth time on Thursday in retaliation for their attacks on merchant ships in the Red Sea, an area crucial for international trade.
Washington specifically said it hit Houthi missiles on the ground that "we believe were going to be launched immediately" against ships in the Red Sea, the spokesman for the US presidency's National Security Council, John Kirby, explained.
Deputy spokeswoman for the US Department of Defense, Sabrina Singh, said that the bombing, which began late last week and in some cases was carried out with the participation of Britain, had the effect of "destroying much of the capabilities" of the Houthis.
In Moscow, Russia's Foreign Minister called on the US to stop the "attack" on Yemen. "The more the Americans and the British bomb, the less the Houthis will be willing to talk," Sergei Lavrov warned.
US President Joe Biden has reiterated this week that US strikes will continue as long as the Houthis threaten international commercial shipping off the coast of Yemen.
Last month, the US established a multinational naval coalition to protect international shipping in the Red Sea, a critical sea route through which about 12 percent of world trade passes.
Not all countries in the coalition are participating in the strikes, but Denmark — home to Maersk, the world's No. 2 shipping company — announced Thursday that it would take part in the operations. France, for its part, has decided not to participate, to "avoid any escalation" in the region, as its president Emmanuel Macron said.