The Sounion oil tanker was attacked by a missile on Wednesday, after being hit earlier by three projectiles and two small boats in the Red Sea off Yemen, causing damage to the vessel but no injuries, the Greek shipping ministry and UK maritime agency UKMTO said. The latest attack caused fire on board and disrupted the tanker's ability to maneuver.
The ship heading to Eilat said it was first approached by two small craft with about 15 people on board and reported a brief exchange of small arms fire during the incident 77 nautical miles (142 km) west of Yemen's port of Hodeidah, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations said.
Sounion, a Greek-flagged vessel with 25 crew members, lost the ability to maneuver as a result of the attack, UKMTO added, and the Greek shipping ministry said in a statement the vessel had been damaged.
It also said there were no reports of injuries among the foreign crew - two Russians and the rest Filipinos.
British security firm Ambrey separately reported another incident in the same area, saying "the vessel was engaged by small arms fire from two skiffs in a previous incident 10NM further south", it said, without naming the ship involved.
Delta Tankers, which operates the Sounion, confirmed it has been involved in "a hostile incident" in the Red Sea and has suffered minor damage.
"The crew and vessel are safe and unharmed. The vessel is currently adrift while the crew assesses damage before the vessel will continue on its onward journey," it said.
The attacks on shipping have drawn U.S. and British retaliatory strikes on Houthi territories and disrupted global trade as ship owners reroute vessels away from the Red Sea and Suez Canal to sail the longer route around the southern tip of Africa.