The transport route around the southern tip of Africa was once little used — but freighters are now forced to take it and are charging higher rates.

Two US Navy destroyers repelled a missile-drone attack by Yemeni Houthi rebels targeting commercial vessels in the Gulf of Aden. No civilian ships or crew were harmed, reports the US Central Command (CENTCOM).

The destroyer USS Stockdale transits in the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility on Dec 2, 2024. On Dec. 9 and Dec. 10, USS Stockdale and the destroyer USS O'Kane fended off a Houthi attack while protecting three U.S. civilian ships in the Gulf of Aden. (Storm Henry/U.S. Navy)

The is no evidence the Houthis successfully struck a U.S. warship. All three commercial vessels escorted by the Navy reportedly are intact and en route to their destinations.

Joint operation involved 16 ballistic and winged missiles as well as a drone, achieving ‘precise and direct hits,’ says group’s spokesperson - Anadolu Ajansı

Yemen’s Houthi rebels launched multiple drones and a missile at three commercial ships being escorted in the Gulf of Aden by U.S. Navy ships, a U.S. official said Tuesday. The three U.S. affiliated flagged ships were sailing east toward Djibouti.