"At approximately 8 pm (Sanaa time) [17:00 GMT], U.S. Naval Forces Central Command received reports from two ships in the Southern Red Sea that they were under attack. The M/V BLAAMANEN, a Norwegian-flagged, owned, and operated chemical/oil tanker, reported a near miss of a Houthi one-way attack drone with no injuries or damage reported. A second vessel, the M/V SAIBABA, a Gabon-owned, Indian-flagged crude oil tanker, reported that it was hit by a one-way attack drone with no injuries reported," CENTCOM said on X, formerly known as Twitter.
The USS Laboon responded to distress calls received after the attacks, US Central Command said, adding that these were the 14th and 15th attacks on commercial vessels by the Houthis since October 17.
On Saturday, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations said that a Liberian-flagged ship transporting crude oil from Saudi Arabia to India was attacked by a drone off the Indian coast in the Arabian Sea. No casualties were reported, however the vessel as damaged.
After the armed conflict between Israel and Palestinian movement Hamas escalated in October, Yemen's Ansar Allah rebel movement, also known as the Houthis, has intensified its attacks on cargo ships linked to Israel in the Red Sea and the Arabian Sea, vowing to continue the attacks until Israel ends its military actions in the Gaza Strip.
On Monday, US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin announced the establishment of a multinational operation to secure the Red Sea amid the surge in Houthis' attacks on cargo ships, saying that the United Kingdom, Bahrain, Canada, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, the Seychelles, and Spain would take part in the mission. The Houthis, for their part, vowed to attack any ships that join the US-led maritime coalition.