Houthi rebels in Yemen claimed to have fought off two US warships, reporting a “direct hit” on one of them while the vessels were “protecting two American commercial ships” in the Red Sea on Thursday, the group’s spokesman said. The US said that it intercepted missiles fired at two ships operated by Maersk, the shipping company that handles about 15 per cent of container shipping globally. The company said that both ships “reported seeing explosions close by” and the US Navy accompaniment also intercepted projectiles, adding that it was suspending Red Sea transits by vessels of its US subsidiary.
