A Houthi missile has struck a ship owned by the United States in the Gulf of Aden. This attack comes less than a day after the Houthi rebels launched an anti-ship cruise missile toward an American destroyer in the Red Sea.

The U.S. military’s Central Command later acknowledged the strike but said there wasn’t any major damage. “The ship has reported no injuries or significant damage and is continuing its journey,” Central Command said. Private security firms Ambrey and Dryad Global told The Associated Press that the vessel was the Eagle Gibraltar, a Marshall Islands-flagged bulk carrier.

The vessel is owned by Eagle Bulk Shipping, a Stamford, Connecticut-based firm traded on the New York Stock Exchange. In a statement to The Associated Press, the company said the strike caused “limited damage to a cargo hold but (the ship) is stable and is heading out of the area.”

This attack on the Gibraltar Eagle, which was later claimed by the Houthis, further escalated tensions in the Red Sea after American-led strikes on the rebels. The Houthis’ attacks have roiled global shipping, amid Israel’s war with Hamas in the Gaza Strip, targeting a crucial corridor linking Asian and Mideast energy and cargo shipments to the Suez Canal onward to Europe.

Another War Incident In The Red Sea: Houthis Launch “Complex” Missile Attacks

The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations, which oversees Mideast waters, said Monday’s attack happened some 110 miles (177 kilometers) miles southeast of Aden. It said the ship’s captain reported that the “port side of vessel hit from above by a missile.”

Houthi military spokesman Brigadier General Yahya Saree claimed responsibility for the attack in a recorded television address that aired Monday night. “The Yemeni armed forces consider all American and British ships and warships participating in the aggression against our country as hostile targets,” he said.

Houthi Attacks On Shipping Vessels In Red Sea Continue

The U.S. Maritime Administration, under the Transportation Department, also issued a warning of a continuing “high degree of risk to commercial vessels” traveling near Yemen. “While the decision to transit remains at the discretion of individual vessels and companies, it is recommended that U.S. flag and U.S.-owned commercial vessels” stay away from Yemen in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden “until further notice,” the advisory said.