US navy destroys Houthi boats attacking container ship on Red Sea: report

The US Navy has destroyed Houthi "small boats" attempting to board a container ship on the Red Sea, as per media reports.

The US military said four vessels from Houthi-controlled areas in Yemen fired upon the Maersk Hangzhou and got to within metres of the ship, according to a BBC report.

Helicopters from nearby US warships responded to a distress call and after being fired upon, sank three of the boats "in self-defence", the BBC reported. The crew were killed and the fourth boat fled the area.

The Houthis have been attacking ships in the Red Sea since November, the BBC reported. The Iranian-backed Yemeni rebel group has claimed that its attacks on the vital shipping lane are directed at vessels linked to Israel, in response to the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza.

The commercial ship which was attacked, the Maersk Hangzhou, is registered in Singapore and operated and owned by a Danish firm, US Central Command (Centcom) said.

Maersk says it has paused the movement of its vessels through the Red Sea for 48 hours, BBC reported.

The four Houthi boats attacked at around 6.30 pm Yemeni time with mounted weapons and small arms, getting to within 20 metres (66 feet) of the container ship, which the crew "attempted to board".

The ship's crew issued a distress call and a security team returned fire, the statement said.

Helicopters from the nearby USS Eisenhower aircraft carrier and USS Gravely destroyer responded to the call for help and were shot at while "in the process of issuing verbal calls to the small boats", the BBC reported.

The helicopters "returned fire in self-defense, sinking three of the four small boats, and killing the crew", Centcom said. It added that the fourth boat "fled the area" and no damage had been recorded to US personnel or equipment.

It was the second attack on the Maersk Hangzhou in 24 hours, after it was attacked with missiles on Saturday, BBC reported.

The anti-ship missiles were fired from Houthi-controlled areas as the American destroyers Gravely and Laboon responded on Saturday, according to a previous Centcom statement.