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Destroyer intercepted inbound Houthi anti-ship missile

The USS 'Mason' intercepted an inbound Houthi anti-ship missile over the Red Sea on May 13, 2024, after Yemen's Houthis said on May 15 that they had targeted the warship. The US forces also destroyed two drones. The Houthis said they had also targeted a vessel called 'Destiny' in the Red Sea. There was, however, no evidence of an attack on the 'Destiny' in recent days. The vessel and crew were safe, with no issues. The Houthis said they targeted the 'Destiny' because it had been en route for the Israeli port of Eilat on April 20.

18 drones and three missiles of Houthis shot down

Multiple missiles and drones fired in the direction of commercial vessels in the Red Sea were launched from Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen in the night of Jan 9, 2024. There were no reports of damage or injury. 18 drones, two-antiship cruise missiles and one anti-ship ballistic missile that were fired at about 9:15 p.m. LT were successfully shot down by a combined effort of fighter jets from the aircraft carrier USS 'Dwight D. Eisenhower' and the missile destroyers USS 'Gravely', USS 'Laboon' and USS 'Mason', along with the UK Royal Navy destroyer HMS 'Diamond'. It was unclear what exactly the drones and missiles were targeting because there were several commercial ships in the area. The strikes marked the 26th Houthi attack on Red Sea shipping lanes since Nov. 19, 2023. On Dec. 30 the USS 'Gravely' shot down two ballistic missiles fired by the Houthis while it was responding to assist the container m/v 'Maersk Hangzhou', which had been struck by a Houthi missile. No one was injured in that missile strike. However, arly on Dec. 31, four Houthi boats attacked the 'Maersk Hangzhou' in an attempt to board it. Responding U.S. forces opened fire, sinking three of the four Houthi boats and killing their crews.

Hijacked tanker freed by US Navy

The USS 'Mason' responded to a distress call from the 'Central Park' in the Gulf of Aden that had been seized by five armed men, and the tanker was safe on Nov 26, 2023. The tanker, which had been carrying a cargo of phosphoric acid, and 22 crew members, including Russian, Vietnamese, Bulgarian, Indian, Georgian and Filipino nationalities, and a Turkish master, had been sailing towards Hodeidah after being hijacked off Aden. The tanker's last AIS had dated from Nov 22 in the northern Red Sea, after the transit of the Suez Canal and the Gulf of Suez, en route from Gibraltar, with the status "for orders”. The tanker is linked to the Israeli Eyal Ofer’s Zodiac Group.