Missile fired from rebel-controlled Yemen misses a container ship in Bab el-Mandeb Strait

This satellite image provided by Maxar Technologies shows the Red Sea near As Salif, Yemen, Tuesday, Nov. 28, 2023. (Satellite image ©2023 Maxar Technologies via AP)

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — A missile fired from territory controlled by Houthi rebels in Yemen missed a container ship traveling through the crucial Bab el-Mandeb Strait on Thursday, a U.S. defence official said, the latest attack threatening shipping in the crucial maritime chokepoint.

The attack saw the missile splash harmlessly in the water near the Maersk Gibraltar, a Hong Kong-flagged container ship that had been traveling from Salalah, Oman, to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, the official said.

The official spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss intelligence matters. The official's comments came after the British military's United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations, which monitors Mideast shipping lanes, put out an alert warning of an incident in the strait, which separates East Africa from the Arabian Peninsula.

The Maersk Gibraltar had also been hailed over the radio by "an entity claiming to be the `Yemeni Navy' ahead of the missile being launched towards the vessel," the private intelligence firm Ambrey said. "The `Yemeni Navy' demanded the vessel alter course to head for Yemen. Ambrey assessed the entity to be" the Houthis.

Maersk, one of the world's biggest shippers, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Thursday's attack marks just the latest in the seaborne attacks attributed to the Houthis as part of their pressure campaign over the Israel-Hamas war raging in the Gaza Strip.

Two missiles fired from Houthi-held territory missed a commercial tanker loaded with Indian-manufactured jet fuel near the key Bab el-Mandeb Strait on Wednesday. Also near the strait, a missile fired by Houthi rebels on Monday night slammed into a Norwegian-flagged tanker in the Red Sea.

The Houthis have carried out a series of attacks on vessels in the Red Sea and launched drones and missiles targeting Israel. In recent days, they have threatened to attack any vessel they believe is either going to or coming from Israel, though several vessels targeted had no apparent link at all.

Global shipping has increasingly been targeted as the Israel-Hamas war threatens to become a wider regional conflict -- even during a brief pause in fighting during which Hamas exchanged hostages for Palestinian prisoners held by Israel. The collapse of the truce and the resumption of a punishing Israeli ground offensive and airstrikes on Gaza have raised the risk of more sea attacks.

The Bab el-Mandeb Strait is only 29 kilometres (18 miles) wide at its narrowest point, limiting traffic to two channels for inbound and outbound shipments, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Nearly 10% of all oil traded at sea passes through it. An estimated $1 trillion in goods pass through the strait annually.

In November, Houthis seized a vehicle transport ship linked to Israel in the Red Sea off Yemen. The rebels still hold the vessel near the port city of Hodeida. Separately, a container ship owned by an Israeli billionaire came under attack by a suspected Iranian drone in the Indian Ocean.

A separate, tentative ceasefire between the Houthis and a Saudi-led coalition fighting on behalf of Yemen's exiled government has held for months despite that country's long war. That's raised concerns that any wider conflict in the sea -- or a potential reprisal strike from Western forces -- could reignite those tensions in the Arab world's poorest nation.