US Navy helicopters kill Iran-backed Houthi fighters attempting to board a cargo ship in Red Sea

Angle down iconAn icon in the shape of an angle pointing down. Helicopters from USS Dwight D Eisenhower fired upon Iran-backed Houthi gunmen attempting to hijack a cargo ship. Smith Collection/Gado/Getty Images

• Navy helicopters fired on Iran-backed Houthi gunmen attempting to hijack a cargo ship.
• The helicopters returned fire in self-defense, sinking three of the four small boats, and killing the crews.
• The small boats originated from Houthi-controlled areas in Yemen, said US Central Command.

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The conflict in the Red Sea escalated on Sunday when US Navy helicopters fired on and destroyed the boats of Iranian-backed Houthi gunmen attempting to board a cargo ship.

Thesmall boats, originating from Houthi-controlled areas in Yemen, attempted to board the Maersk Hangzhou, a Singapore-registered, Danish-owned cargo ship, said US Central Command (Centcom).

Responding to a distress call from the Maersk Hangzhou, US warship helicopters from the USS Eisenhower and Gravely engaged the Houthi vessels.

After being shot at by gunmen in the boats, the US Navy helicopters returned fire, sinking three and killing all the crew, Centcom said.

It added that the fourth boat "fled the area" and no damage had been recorded to US personnel or equipment.

Earlier, the US Navy's USS Gravely successfully intercepted two anti-ship ballistic missiles while responding to a Houthi attack on the Maersk Hangzhou, per Centcom.

The container ship was also struck by a missile while transiting the Southern Red Sea, it said. The vessel was reported as seaworthy and there was no injury to crew.

Maersk has paused sailings through the Red Sea for 48 hours in response to the attempted attack.

The US Navy's interception of the assault countered the 23rd illegal attack by Houthi rebels on international shipping since November 19.

A vital shipping lane

Yemen's Houthi loyalists lift their weapons as they take part in an armed parade for more than 20,000 members who have finished a military course, staged to show their willingness to battle any potential attack by the recently created coalition by the U.S., on December 20, 2023 in Amran province, Yemen. Mohammed Hamoud

For weeks now, the Iran-backed Yemen rebel group has been targeting commercial vessels in the Red Sea with drones and ballistic missiles in protest of Israeli military operations in the Gaza Strip.

Leading shipping firms, including Maersk, have reroutes vessels from the vital shipping lane, impacting global shipping routes and international trade.

The Houthi assaults on vital shipping lanes have prompted the US to launch Operation Prosperity Guardian — an international Naval coalition aimed at safeguarding shipping in the region.

The Houthis have continued with their attacks despite the US' response. US Navy Vice Adm. Brad Cooper stated that, since the operation's launch, 1,200 commercial ships have passed through the Red Sea without incident until Saturday's missile strike, per the BBC.

Correction: December 31, 2023— An earlier version of this story misstated that the USS Enterprise was involved in the US Navy action. It was the USS Eisenhower.