There have been at least three instances of attacks against commercial shipping vessels sailing off the coast of Yemen and Oman since Wednesday. The ongoing surge of maritime assaults by the Yemen-based Houthis has prompted US officials to escalate calls for a bolstered multinational naval force in the region, a prospect denounced by Iran.
In a signal to Houthi leadership that further aggression would not be tolerated, US Special Envoy for Yemen, Tim Lenderking, said on Thursday that the Biden Administration was seeking the "broadest possible" coalition to protect ships traveling through the Gulf of Aden, Bab al-Mandab Strait, and the Red Sea.
According to two US intelligence officials familiar with the situation, the Iran-aligned Houthis shot two missiles at a commercial tanker near the Strait on Wednesday before later firing a drone in the direction of a US warship deployed to the region, the USS Mason.
The Marshall Islands-flagged Ardmore Encounter, carrying Indian-manufactured jet fuel, was traveling north toward the Suez Canal when hostile gunmen on a speedboat opened fire on the vessel about 102 kilometers (about 55 nautical miles) off the coast of Hodeida.
Originally reported by British maritime security company Ambrey, the firm said that an entity claiming to be the Yemeni Navy demanded the ship change course prior to the gunmen’s arrival, but a nearby warship advised the Ardmore to not stray from its path.
After the hostile boat approached, the gunmen on board opened fire after the chemical tanker’s private armed security team displayed arms.
"The PAST repelled the attack by returning fire. The speedboat further exchanged fire and disengaged,” Ambrey said.
The owner and operator of the tanker, Ardmore Shipping Corporation, released a statement after the incident, saying: “No one boarded the vessel, and all crew members are safe and accounted for. The vessel remains fully operational with no loss of cargo or damage on board."
On Thursday, the Maersk Gibraltar, a Hong Kong-flagged container ship traveling from Salalah, Oman, to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, was fired upon with a missile originating in Houthi territory.
Like Wednesday’s incident, the Gibraltar was hailed over the radio by the “Yemeni Navy” to dock in Yemen before being attacked.
Iran warns further US involvement in region will not be tolerated
The Houthis have not yet confirmed or denied the reports but have maintained that they will continue to attack ships with relations to Israel if the war in Gaza is not ended. Iran, the Houthis' primary backer, insisted on Thursday that any US attempt to increase involvement in the region would not be tolerated.
Iranian Defense Minister Mohammad Reza Ashtiani told the Iranian Student News Agency, a state-owned media apparatus, that any attempt by the US to establish an international naval coalition "will be faced with extraordinary problems."