Damage To Ship In Gulf Of Aden After Latest Houthi Attack

Wires reporting comments from an unnamed US defence official. Says that smoke has been seen coming from the Barbados-flagged bulk carried 'True Confidence' in the Gulf of Aden, with a lifeboat seen in the water near to the vessel. An earlier post by the UKMTO stated "UKMTO has received a report of an incident 54NM southwest of Aden, Yemen. A merchant vessel in the vicinity is reported to have been hit and has suffered damage. Coalition Forces are supporting.."

• AP reported earlier: "The attack came as a U.S. destroyer separately shot down drones and a missile launched by the Houthis and as the Indian navy released images of it fighting a fire aboard a container ship earlier targeted by the rebels....The attack Wednesday in the Gulf of Aden targeted a Barbados-flagged bulk carrier called True Confidence, which earlier had been hailed over radio by individuals claiming to be the Yemeni military, officials said. The Houthis have been hailing ships over the radio in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden since launching their attacks, with analysts suspecting the rebels want to seize the vessels."
• Earlier today, Egyptian authorities engaged in the country's largest-evern interest rate hike and allowed a major devaluation of the pound, with Bloomberg reporting "In addition, shipping attacks by Houthi militants in the Red Sea have seen traffic through the Suez Canal — a critical source of income for Egypt, amounting to billions of dollars a year — dive."