DUBAI, Jan 16, 2024 (BSS/AFP) - A Greek-owned cargo ship was hit by a
missile off Yemen, a maritime risk management company said on Tuesday,
following a string of attacks in the Red Sea by Yemen's Huthi rebels.

"A Malta-flagged, Greek-owned bulk carrier was reportedly targeted and
impacted with a missile while transiting the southern Red Sea northbound,"
Ambrey said in an alert.

The ship, which has visited Israel since the outbreak of war in Gaza and was
headed to the Suez Canal, changed course and headed to port after the
incident, Ambrey said.

A source within the Greek maritime affairs ministry named the ship as the
Zografia, a 24-crew vessel, and said it had been sailing from Vietnam to
Israel.

The Zografia "sustained limited damage... but remains in a navigable
condition, and is continuing its journey," the source said, adding that there
were no injuries on board.

There was no immediate comment from the Huthis, who launched attacks on
American vessels on Sunday and Monday following US and UK strikes on their
territory last week.

On Sunday, US forces shot down a Huthi cruise missile targeting an American
destroyer, and on Monday a US-owned cargo ship in the Gulf of Oman was hit by
another rebel missile.

The incidents followed Friday's US and UK strikes on scores of sites in
rebel-held Yemen in retaliation for the Red Sea attacks which have disrupted
shipping in the vital waterway.

The Huthis have been targeting what they deemed Israeli-linked vessels but
after Friday's strikes, they declared US and British interests "legitimate
targets".

United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations, a maritime security agency run by
the British navy, also reported an "incident" in an area northwest of Saleef
in Yemen, without giving further details.

Earlier, Qatar's prime minister said liquefied natural gas shipments would be
affected by tensions in the Red Sea, and warned that strikes on Yemen risk
aggravating the crisis.

"LNG is... as any other merchant shipments. They will be affected by that,"
Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani told the World Economic Forum in
Davos, referring to the exchanges with the Huthis.

"There are alternative routes, those alternative routes are not more
efficient, they're less efficient than the current route," he added.

Rather than use the key route between Asia and European markets, which
normally carries about 12 percent of global maritime trade, some shipping
companies are now taking a major detour around southern Africa.

Bloomberg reported on Monday that at least five LNG vessels operated by Qatar
had stopped en route to the Red Sea.

"(Military intervention) will not bring an end for this, will not contain it.
So the contrary, I think will create... a further escalation," Sheikh
Mohammed said, referring to the tensions in the Red Sea.