Yemen’s Houthi rebels target ship in Gulf of Aden; Eisenhower reportedly heads home

A commercial vessel traveling through the Gulf of Aden experienced nearby explosions, authorities reported on Saturday. This incident is likely the latest attack by Yemen’s Houthi rebels, who have been targeting this crucial shipping lane.

The suspected attack by the Houthis follows the recent sinking of the ship Tutor, indicating a potential escalation by the Iranian-backed rebels in their maritime assault campaign linked to the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict in Gaza.

In response to the Houthi attacks, U.S. officials have reportedly ordered the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower, the aircraft carrier leading America’s efforts in the region, to return home.

The captain of the commercial ship targeted late Friday observed “explosions in the vicinity of the vessel,” as reported by the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) center. The UKMTO confirmed that the crew was safe and that the ship was continuing to its next destination, without specifying if there was any damage to the vessel.

Although the Houthis, who have controlled Yemen’s capital Sanaa since 2014, did not immediately claim responsibility for the attack, it often takes them hours or days to acknowledge their actions. On Friday, the Houthis released footage of a drone boat named “Tufan” (meaning “Flood”), which they claimed had targeted the Tutor.

Since November, the Houthis have conducted over 60 attacks on specific vessels, fired numerous missiles and drones, killed four sailors, and seized one vessel while sinking two others. A U.S.-led airstrike campaign has been targeting the Houthis since January, with a strike on May 30 reportedly killing at least 16 people and wounding 42, according to the rebels.

In March, the Belize-flagged Rubymar, carrying fertilizer, became the first ship to sink in the Red Sea after taking on water for days following a Houthi attack.

The Houthis assert that their attacks target ships connected to Israel, the U.S., or Britain. However, many of the attacked ships have minimal or no ties to the Israel-Hamas conflict.

Meanwhile, according to the U.S. Naval Institute’s news service, the Eisenhower will return to Norfolk, Virginia, after an intense deployment lasting over eight months, considered the Navy’s most demanding since World War II. An aircraft carrier in the Pacific will reportedly replace the Eisenhower. The closest American aircraft carrier currently operating in Asia is the USS Theodore Roosevelt, which docked in Busan, South Korea, amidst ongoing tensions between Seoul and North Korea.