The US Navy has destroyed Houthi “small boats” attempting to board a container ship in the Red Sea.
Four vessels from Houthi-controlled areas in Yemen fired upon the Maersk Hangzhou and got to within metres of the ship, the US military said.
Helicopters from nearby US warships responded to a distress call and after being fired upon, sunk three of them “in self-defence”.
The crews were killed and the fourth boat fled the area.
The Houthis have been attacking ships in the Red Sea since November.
This is the best summary I could come up with:
The Iranian-backed Yemeni rebel group have claimed its attacks on the vital shipping lane are directed at vessels linked to Israel, in response to the war in Gaza.
The four Houthi boats attacked at around 06:30 Yemeni time (03:30 GMT) with mounted weapons and small arms, getting to within 20m (66ft) of the container ship, which the crew “attempted to board”.
Separately, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) organisation reported an incident in the Red Sea about 55 nautical miles (101km) to the south-west of the Yemeni port of Hodeidah.
The rise in Houthi attacks over several weeks has led many shipping firms, including Maersk, to divert their vessels away from the Red Sea, travelling around the horn of Africa instead.
To reach the Suez Canal in Egypt - which connects to the Mediterranean Sea - ships must pass through the tiny Bab al-Mandab Strait, just off the coast of Houthi-controlled areas in Yemen.
Maersk said last week that it was preparing to resume journeys through Red Sea - after diverting to the much longer route around the Cape of Good Hope because of recent Houthi attacks on shipping.
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