Malta-flagged Greek ship hit by missile from Yemen

A Malta-flagged, Greek-owned cargo ship has been hit with a missile off the coast of Yemen while transiting through the Red Sea.

The Greek news agency Ana-mpa said the bulk carrier called Zografia was around 76 nautical miles north-west of the Yemeni port of Saleef. It was en route to the Suez Canal having departed from Colombo, Sri Lanka.

The missile is reported to have damaged the ship but it was still able to sail on its own steam. The vessel has a crew of 24 but their nationalities are not yet available.

This is believed to be the third incident involving the vessel in 24 hours.

Tuesday's incident comes as the US military announced it had seized Iranian-supplied weapons bound for the Houthis during an operation last week.

Meanwhile, the US has hit more targets in Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen with an official telling CBS the military conducted further strikes on Houthi positions overnight.

The US and UK launched a wave of airstrikes against dozens of Houthi targets on 11 January following attacks by the Iran-backed group on shipping in the Red Sea.

It is not yet known what was attacked in the latest US operation.

The Houthis have vowed to retaliate and on Sunday the US said it had shot down a missile fired towards one of its warships from a Houthi area of Yemen.

Several vessels have been targeted by the movement's fighters since November in protest at Israel's war with Hamas.

The Houthis say they are targeting vessels which are Israeli-owned, flagged or operated, or are heading to Israeli ports. However, many have no connections with Israel.

The Red Sea connects the Indian Ocean to the Mediterranean via the Suez Canal in Egypt. Several shipping lines have announced they are now diverting vessels round the Cape of Good Hope at the southern tip of Africa to reach Europe instead.

The US said on Tuesday that analysis from the weapons it seized from a ship near the Yemen coast suggested the Houthis had been using the same kind of weapons in their Red Sea attacks.

The seizure took place on 11 January near the coast of Somalia - the same day as the first US-UK airstrikes.

Cruise and ballistic missile components were among the items found on a ship, as well as parts for air defence equipment.

“This is the first seizure of lethal, Iranian-supplied advanced conventional weapons (ACW) to the Houthis since the beginning of Houthi attacks against merchant ships in November 2023,” US Central Command said in a statement.

It also said a search is continuing for two Navy Seals who were lost overboard during the operation.

According to media reports, one officer was knocked off the ship by high waves and the second jumped in afterwards to try and help as is required by protocol.