The Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer, USS Laboon — USS Laboon, an Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer, was one of the US Navy ships that had been escorting the reported target of the Houthi missile (Picture: US Navy)

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US shoots down Houthi ballistic missile in Red Sea, protecting civilian container ship

The US has shot down an anti-ship ballistic missile in the Red Sea, which US Central Command said had been targeting a US-owned commercial vessel.

In a post on X, US Central Command (CentCom) said its forces "successfully engaged and destroyed one inbound anti-ship ballistic missile" that was launched by the Iranian-backed Houthi rebels.

CentCom said the missile had been launched over the Gulf of Aden and had probably been targeting the MV Yorktown, a US-flagged and owned container ship that was being escorted by two US warships.

USS Laboon and USS Mason, both Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyers, were escorting the container ship.

The post also confirmed there were no injuries or damage reported to any "US, coalition or commercial ships".

Watch: Houthi missile strike on vessel in Red Sea claims first fatalities

"It was determined the ABSM presented an imminent threat to US, coalition and merchant vessels in the region," the post said.

"These actions are taken to protect freedom of navigation and make international waters safer and more secure for US, coalition and merchant vessels."

In late March, Royal Navy ship HMS Richmond sailed back into Plymouth after after being front and centre of the UK's mission to protect shipping in the Red Sea.

The frigate spent nearly six weeks around the Bab-al-Mandeb Strait and the Gulf of Aden as part of Operation Prosperity Guardian – the multinational mission to ensure freedom of navigation in the region.

Earlier that month, HMS Richmond used her Sea Ceptor missiles to shoot down two Houthi drones.