On Monday, Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Sarea confirmed that his country's forces fired missiles at a British ship in the Gulf of Aden.
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"Our naval forces have attacked the British ship, Rubymar, in the Gulf of Aden with a number of missiles. The ship suffered catastrophic damage and came to a complete halt," he said, adding the ship is now at risk of sinking in the Gulf of Aden.
"Our attacks in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden will not stop unless Israeli aggression on Gaza stops," Sarea pointed out, claiming that his group had shot down a U.S. MQ9 drone off Hodeidah port city, which is under Houthi control.
Earlier in the day, the UK Maritime Trade Operations agency said that the crew of the attacked vessel, which it didn't identify, had abandoned the vessel, adding that "military authorities" rushed to the scene to assist.
The British maritime agency said the attack on the vessel occurred on Sunday 35 nautical miles south of al-Mukha, located south of Hodeidah port city. Ambrey, another British maritime security agency, confirmed that the attacked vessel was a British-registered bulk cargo vessel.
On Sunday, the U.S. Central Command conducted defensive strikes against five Houthi targets in the Red Sea on Saturday, including mobile missiles and underwater drones ready to be launched. It said it was the first time it had observed the Houthis possessing such drones.
Since January, the U.S.-led coalition has conducted dozens of airstrikes against Houthi targets in northern Yemen, saying the strikes aimed to degrade Houthi military capabilities.
However, the Houthis have said the U.S. military airstrikes have had no impact and responded by launching more drone and missile attacks against U.S. and British navy ships and commercial vessels in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden.