The attacks follow the departure of the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower after an eight-month deployment in which the aircraft carrier led the American response to the Houthi attacks. Those attacks have reduced shipping drastically through the route crucial to Asian, Middle East and European markets in a campaign the Houthis say will continue as long as Israel continues its war on the Gaza Strip.

Meanwhile, the Houthis faced allegations they seized commercial aircraft that brought back pilgrims from the Hajj amid a widening economic dispute between the rebels and the country’s exiled government.

The ship attack happened off the coast of Aden, the British military's United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations center said.

The captain “of a merchant vessel reported a missile impacted the water in close proximity to the vessel,” the UKMTO said. “The crew are reported safe and the vessel is proceeding to its next port of call.”

The UKMTO did not say if the ship had been damaged.

Meanwhile, the Israeli military said early Wednesday that a drone “fell off the coast of Eilat.” The military activated air raid sirens in the area.

The drone “was monitored by (Israeli) soldiers throughout the incident and it did not cross into Israeli territory,” the Israeli military said. “During the incident, an interceptor was launched toward the” drone.

The Houthis have targeted Eilat before with drones and missiles. However, the Islamic Resistance group in Iraq claimed the attack. That group recently began what it and the Houthis describe as joint operations over the Israeli war on Gaza.

The Houthis did not immediately claim the ship attack. However, it can take the rebels hours or even days before they acknowledge their attacks.