US Says UK-Owned Ship Hit By ‘Rocket Fire’

By Christine Burke

Dec 3, 2023 (Bloomberg) –A US warship, the USS Carney, and multiple commercial ships came under attack Sunday in the Red Sea, Associated Press reported, citing a statement from the Pentagon. 

The incidents are the latest in a string of attacks on vessels in the region since rebels in Yemen last month issued a threat against ships with ties to Israel. The Pentagon didn’t identify where the latest fire came from, AP said.  

Earlier, Al Arabiya reported that a UK-owned ship transiting the Red Sea was “struck by a rocket” off Yemen’s western coast, citing the maritime security firm Ambrey. 

The Bahamas-flagged vessel, which was on its way to Singapore from the US, issued “distress calls related to piracy/missile attack,” Al Arabiya cited Ambrey as saying. 

The ship’s owner was linked to Dan David Ungar, a UK citizen listed in British directories as an Israeli resident, Al Arabiya said. 

United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations said it received a report of a drone attack in the vicinity of the Bab el Mandeb Strait near Yemen. It’s unclear if the incidents are related. 

US Central Command on Saturday said on X, formerly Twitter, that a US military plane had intercepted an Iranian drone “operating in an unsafe and unprofessional manner during aircraft carrier flight operations in the Arabian Gulf.”

© 2023 Bloomberg L.P.

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